Historical sites to receive facelift

Plans are being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism to breathe life into two historic sites by retrofitting them with amenities to make them operational.
Fort Barrington in the southwest, and Betty’s Hope in the southeast, are the two sites identified to receive the upgrades that are expected to begin later this year. Chairman of the Antigua Pier Group Saiid Greene spoke positively on the project, saying it will provide opportunities for investment.
“Tourists are constantly asking to visit our historic sites, so the plan is now to reinvigorate those two areas and to put the functioning services that are needed to make them a worthwhile part of things to do. “We’re very excited about the development at these two [areas], so we are asking Antiguans who are interested in economic opportunities to contact us so . . . we can begin to have these conversations.”
Greene added that at the end of the project the sites will form part of the historic tour package sold to visitors. “Once they are fully retrofitted, given their historical importance in terms of a story-board where you can actually go and read their history, it means now that would form part of the historic tour.
“Just like Nelson’s Dockyard is part of the historic tour, it means that a great amount of people will have what we call pre-booked tours designed to visit these new historical sites, and that is what we are doing. “Put the facilities in place. You can put shops, bars, art galleries, all of the amenities in Fort Barrington which would include a zipline.”