GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Former president of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, Christopher Nascimento, has indicated that Guyana’s tourism market has been losing to Trinidad & Tobago, among other Caribbean neighbours, because of the absence of adequate accomodation in the country.

He stated that the opening of the US$58-million Guyana Marriott Hotel yesterday will be a significant asset to the country’s recently rebranded tourism industry — Discover Guyana.

“This will serve as a major attraction for holding significant international conferences as we have been losing to Trinidad & Tobago and other countries,” Nascimento, who is also a public communication consultant of Atlantic Hotel Incorporated (AHI), told the Jamaica Observer during the opening of the hotel in Georgetown.

“We see the hotel as significantly putting Guyana on the map and we will also be able to penetrate tourism markets which we could not target previously,” he added.

Marriott’s construction is owned and overseen by AHI, a company owned by the Government of Guyana through its shareholding company National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited. The public/private investment has long term financing from the Republic Bank Limited of US$27-million.

The hotel now employs more than 200 staff out of an expected 450 individuals.

Guyana’s President Donald Ramotar and executive vice-president of Marriott Hotel, Brenda Durham officially opened the country’s landmark hotel. The new Marriott has 197 rooms and will serve as the first internationally branded hotel to open in Guyana in more than 45 years. The hotel is expected to transform the hospitality landscape significantly and boost the tourism sector.

In 2011, an estimated 12.2 per cent of Guyana’s gross domestic product (GDP) came from travel and tourism, up from 11.5 per cent in 2010. The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that the sector will grow from G$35.1B to G$42.3B, over the next six years.

“One the spin-off effects of this hotel is that other airlines that we don’t have servicing Guyana at the moment will be attracted to come here, including from parts of Europe,” Nascimento told the Caribbean Business Report. “One of the biggest challenges we have in our tourism sector is airlifting, available airlift and the cost of airlift. Caribbean Airlines has served us for a very long time, but now the Government is working on an airport expansion at Cheddi Jagan International which will allow us to accomodate more carriers.”

“We have recently signed deals with IntelAir and Copa Airlines because of the hotel and the airport expansion, so this means more competition for us and it will drive down the prices,” he stated.

The Marriott Hotel will be managed and operated by the Marriott Worldwide chain of affiliates. A second component of the project entails the construction of a 29,000-square foot entertainment complex which will house a casino, restaurant and nightclub all of which will be privately operated, separate and distinct from the hotel and its operator.

“The bottom line is that now you have an international brand-name hotel which we have not had in this country for more than 45 years. The Pegasus was a brand-name hotel, but it was deflagged a number of years ago so it’s now a locally owned hotel, so with that coming on stream it will be a major attraction,” he said.