In a boost to Guyana’s tourism and hospitality sector, the Georgetown Seafront Resort and Convention Centre’s groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sunday in the country’s capital city, Georgetown.
The complex, to be developed by Qatari company Assets Group Inc., is set to be a state-of-the-art facility, including 261 hotel rooms, 150 service apartments, premium villas, a health club, and a world-class convention centre. Spanning 76,000 square meters, the complex will complement the construction of many internationally recognized hotels in Guyana. According to Guyana’s President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the multiple hotel projects will add 1,300 world-class rooms to the local market by the end of 2024.
Mr. Ali addressed the groundbreaking ceremony, describing the Georgetown Resort as a symbol of the growing partnership between Guyana and Qatar. He believes there is potential for a continuous flow of investments into Guyana. “Since we have established a strong focus on the Middle East and other parts of the world that were not traditionally focused on investment in this region, we have seen tremendous interest, and Qatar is one of those countries that has shown remarkable speed in expanding transforming this interest into reality,” he said.
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The project aligns with Guyana’s eco-tourism and environmental sustainability goals, as Ali said it is important to balance massive transformational investments with the preservation of Guyana’s natural beauty. The resort and convention centre is expected to be followed by investment from Qatar in a new stadium in Region Three, all part of the balancing act.
“All of these different parts of the tourism and hospitality ecosystem need to integrate and work seamlessly for us to build the sector to a world-class sector,” Mr. Ali said.
This development is part of a larger vision to make Guyana an attractive hub for tourism and investment, with the Guyanese President announcing the construction of approximately ten new hotels, including brands like Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Radisson, and Best Western Hotels. He shared details on the expected openings of these hotels, noting that the total investment exceeds US$250 million and reflects the confidence international partners have in Guyana’s economy.
“These investors for these hotels span from North America to local and regional investors. So, you can see the diversity in the spread of investment that is coming into the country. We also have proposals that will see new announcements being made before the end of the year,” Mr. Ali said.
The boom in the hospitality sector is an off-shoot of Guyana’s oil-fueled economic expansion. With the aggressive drive to increase hotel accommodations, the government’s goal is to facilitate the addition of 2000 hotel rooms by 2025.
