EDITOR’S NOTE: Normally our newsletters feature a specific country or a specific topic in the Caribbean travel industry. In this edition, #IslandsCaribbean features developments by Marriott International hotel chain. This is rare because few organizations have previously displayed such confidence in the Caribbean as a destination with so many active projects.

Our headline from the Dominican Today, reads: “Powerful Marriott Bets On Dominican Republic With ’10 ongoing projects’ in the country”. It speaks of Marriott adding more than 2,000 additional rooms in the Dominican Republic. It now operates six hotels with a total of 1,167 rooms. Their “president, Brian King, is optimistic about the future of the tourism sector”.

Some of these projects are included in Marriott’s joint-venture with Sunwing Travel Group’s Blue Diamond Resorts arm, to more than double its existing all-inclusive portfolio. Overall, 19 franchised resorts totaling 7,000 rooms will be added to the Marriott’s Autograph Collection across six Latin American and Caribbean destinations: most by the middle of this year.

The rebranding of four Royaltons in Jamaica is also included in the joint venture arrangement, but not agreement with Cardinal Investments to construct of a Courtyard-branded hotel at Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport, scheduled to begin by the end of May. Neither is the new Aloft Ponce Hotel in Puerto Rico included, which should have opened last week.

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