$2.2B budgeted to complete works on Hospitality and Tourism Institute

Jan 28, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – With the Hospitality and Tourism Institute scheduled to be opened later this year, the government has announced that $2.2 billion will be used from the national budget to complete the construction of the facility.

Senior Minister with the responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh on Monday presented a $1.558 trillion budget. During his almost seven-hour presentation, Dr. Singh said that the Institute when completed, is expected to train over 700 persons who will fill the skill gaps within the tourism and hospitality industries.

The US$7 million Tourism and Hospitality Institute is currently under construction in Port Mourant, Region Six.

During his presentation, Minister Singh said that the “Government has long recognised the economic potential of the tourism sector, and has been supporting the growth of the sector with a clear policy direction that will translate to more jobs and opportunities for persons in the sector.”

The minister added that diversifying Guyana’s tourism products is central to Government’s strategy to help grow the sector faster, keep more tourism revenue here, and ensure that the benefits reach communities across the country, not just the traditional tourism hotspots.

Having developed new community-led, and experiential offerings in key tourism circuits across 56 communities in 2025, he revealed that the government will be positioning Guyana as a preferred destination for conferences, weddings and reunions, especially amongst the diaspora market.

These initiatives, he noted, will be complemented by an intensive human resource development agenda, which is headlined by the construction of the new Hospitality and Tourism Institute.

Notably, he highlighted that visitor arrivals to the country have been trending upward, with record arrivals of 453,489 visitors in 2025 – the highest ever recorded.

He mentioned that over the next five years, the government intends to transform the sector by ensuring sustainable and world-class tourism experiences, expanding air and domestic connectivity, creating jobs and empowering communities, and making travel more affordable for our citizens and visitors.

To this end, he announced that the government will review, update and implement the National Strategic Tourism Action Plan.

“Upon returning to office, Government moved swiftly to tackle two of the main constraints to growth in the sector: accommodation and airlift capacity,” Dr. Singh said.

Speaking on accommodation, some 738 rooms have been added in 2025, noting that over the last five years, accommodation expanded by 42 percent.

“We are on track to add over 1,000 additional rooms in 2026, increasing the total room stock to over 5,600 by the end of 2026 compared to 3,280 in 2020,” he said.

Also, he related that in efforts to proactively advance in the high-value market, the government received 24 expressions of interest for the development of luxury eco-lodges and resorts, ensuring alignment with expert guidelines developed in 2025 by leading eco-architect expert.

Further, there has been the addition of 18 registered “Airbnb” establishments which provides nearly 70 additional rooms. This brings the total “Airbnb” establishments to 115, with a combined total of 544 rooms available, he disclosed.

Speaking on the airlift capacity, Dr. Singh said that since KLM Royal Dutch Airlines started operations last June, 1,650 seats weekly to Amsterdam have been added. He said too that while Air Transat, which started operations last December, has significantly improved connectivity with twice weekly flights to Toronto providing an additional 796 seats weekly.

He noted that discussions are ongoing with other major carriers.

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Ashni Singh, hospitality, Hospitality and Tourism Institute, National Budget, Tourism

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