EDITOR’S NOTE: Near the end of April, #IslandsCaribbean featured developments in the Caribbean hospitality sector in our edition 2021-05-04. This newsletter does the same. But since our last edition featured the Dominican Republic, no reference is made to that country. Instead, we cover four countries, namely: Jamaica, Guyana, Belize, and Cayman Islands.
Our headline, taken from the Jamaica Information Service, reads: “US$2 Billion In Tourism Investments Over Next Two Years”. Jamaica’s Tourism Minister — Hon. Edmund Bartlett — has revealed that new investments will result in the addition of more than 7,000 hotel rooms and employ more than 20,000 new persons.
According to Guyana’s Public Works Minister — Juan Edghill — as many as eight new hotels could be built in Guyana over the next two years, as the country’s hospitality industry keeps pace with its oil and gas sector. In Central America, Marriott Resorts opened Alaia Belize: its first Autograph Collection hotel in Belize.
In the Cayman Islands, planning approval has been sought for a 10-storey hotel in central George Town, its capital. if successful, the building would become the first to take advantage of the city’s newly increased height limits. Finally, the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, will close for six months, commencing in June, for renovation estimated to cost US$50 million.