Guyana’s hospitality sector will be given a further boost with the construction of a massive new hotel on Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown that will feature world-class conference and entertainment facilities.
This was revealed by President Dr Irfaan Ali during his feature address at the 31st Anniversary Gala and Awards Ceremony of the Private Sector Commission (PSC).
“Outside of the many hotels already under construction, you will see the Urban Renewal Plan which involves the building of a massive hotel, conference and entertainment facility along Carifesta commencing next year, and these are investments from the Qatari Group… This is along Carifesta [Avenue] that will open up tremendous opportunities along the Carifesta Highway and will bring into realisation, the plan of a modern boardwalk along the seawall outside of Carifesta that will support the investments that are coming in,” the Head of State posited.
According to President Ali, 2024 will be an important year for Guyana as a host country. The year will kick-off with the third edition of the International Energy Conference being held from February 19 to February 22. Also in February, the 46th Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) will be held in Georgetown as Guyana assumes chairmanship of the regional body in January 2024.
Moreover, Guyana will be hosting matches during the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in June 2024 in the West Indies and the United States. The country will also host the finals of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament, which coincide with the highly-anticipated Cricket Carnival activities.
In addition, Guyana is set to host several high-level delegations from around the world at the start of the new year. So far, missions from Brazil; Saudi Arabia; Canada; United Arab Emirates (UAE); Qatar; India; Rwanda; United States and possibly the United Kingdom have been confirmed.
“That is how this [new] year will meet us,” the Head of State noted.
These events will drive up the demand for more rooms and accommodation facilities in Guyana. Previously, during world-class events such as the CPL tour.
“Entertainment capital”
Currently, there are several internationally-branded hotels that are under construction and work will move into the final phase next year.
President Ali said these initiatives would help bolster the Guyana Government’s goal of positioning the country as the “entertainment capital” in the Region.
“We will start the process of creating in Guyana, the entertainment capital of the Region, because we are already acutely aware [of] the fact that once we build up the capacity with all these new rooms, new hotels and new restaurants, we have to be able to bring people in, bring consumers in and take care of the new supply. That demand must be there to match the new supply in the system. And we’re thinking about this already; as to how we must ensure that Guyana – built on a platform as a small population – how can we create that demand by bringing people in this country continuously to feed into all that we’re building,” the Guyanese Leader stated.
In keeping with Guyana’s push to increase the number of hotel rooms that can accommodate visitors to the country, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has been intent on creating an enabling environment for new hotels with the aim of adding some 2000 hotel rooms to the local stock over the coming years.
To this end, the Government, through its Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), had launched an Expression of Interest (EoI) in 2021 for hotel developers. Consequently, Guyana is to see the construction of at least eight new hotels over the next few years, including globally-recognised hotel brands, such as the Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Radisson and Best Western Hotels.
Currently, works are ongoing on the US$20 million Courtyard by Marriott Hotel at Timehri, East Bank Demerara. The 140-room hotel, which is located close to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), is expected to be opened in the first quarter of 2024.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed for a US$90 million Hilton Hotel to be constructed at McDoom, Greater Georgetown. The 289-room branded hotel would be constructed in the already busy area, which is home to many businesses such as Gafoors, Pritipaul Singh Investment, Guyana Shore Base Inc, Farm Supplies, and Schlumberger. Construction was slated to begin in January 2021, and was expected to last for two years.
Moreover, works are underway on the US$32.2 million Hyatt Place Hotel at Providence, East Bank Demerara. The 125-room four-star hotel, located along Red Road in Providence, is also slated to be completed next year.
The US$15 million boutique-style Aiden byBest Western Hotel that is located at Robb and Oronoque Streets in Georgetown is expected to be opened in March 2024. The 150-room hotel will span nine floors of a 74,000 square foot modern building with an executive bar and lounge, executive conference rooms, private dining rooms, and a state-of-the-art gym, bar, and restaurant.
In July this year, construction work commenced on a Blue Ridge Hotel at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. When completed in 2024, this US$45 million facility will add a further 200 rooms to the 2000 hotel rooms Government anticipates will be created over the next few years.
