Addressing members of the media on Friday, Lewis said despite the implications of the decision, there are benefits to be derived.

“Our concessions were from April when we had the lockdown. And a month after in May and June, they got 75 percent discount and we continue that through this month of July and next month as well,” the Pier Park CEO said.

“The idea is to make sure we can do things to stimulate the local economy even though that hurts us in the management of the facility,” he explained.

When questioned on the economic impact on the facility since COVID-19 arrived in the territory, he replied: “I can’t speak to the revenue loss, but what I can tell you is the revenue sources that we would normally have from the cruise ships, they are not here.”

Tenants left

In the meantime, Lewis told members of the media that the pandemic has affected a handful of businesses at the facility in more serious ways than others.

“We have had tenants who have applied to us to change some of their products and services, and we have had just a small number of tenants who decided that under the current climate that they couldn’t make it,” he stated.

However, Lewis said he anticipates for the tenants who left to be replaced soon.

He said the Pier Park has had “a huge number of applicants” wanting to set up shop at the facility.

“We had a meeting earlier this week to talk about giving consideration to others, and we still find the biggest constraint is that we don’t have enough units. It is essential that we seek to do whatever is necessary to expand the facility just so that it is the number-one facility, not only in the region but in the world. I believe we have done a lot of things right, and we are trying to ensure that we keep business opportunities open during these difficult times,” Lewis said.

When questioned on a precise number of tenants who left the Pier Park, he said the figure is in the ‘low single digits’ while those that have applied are in the ‘low double digits’.

“There are others who have applied from both local sources and international sources who want to come to this facility,” Lewis stated.