AS is the case with the Amailia Falls Hydro-Project, it appears that those who have lost out or may lose out in one way or the other are instead using their energies to bad-mouth, question the level of transparency involved etc. There are those whose opposition stems from the fact that certain investments will provide competition and then we have those that had an interest in the construction process of a certain project but lost out as a result of it being sought elsewhere. However, while much publicity is given to the dissenting voices in relation to these projects, very little is given to those in support.
And it is with this in mind that I wish to draw to the attention of readers, aspects of an interview of Chief Executive Officer of Cara Hotels, Paul Stephenson conducted by Demerara Waves.
Mr. Stephenson described the reaction by the owner of the Pegasus Hotel, Robert Badal, to the planned construction of a Marriott-branded hotel in Guyana as “unfortunate”. While Mr. Stephenson said he was unaware of the deal with Marriott, he said that the presence of any internationally-flagged hotel would be good for the country.
“If they’ve done their due-diligence and they feel that Guyana is a destination that they would like to open an international flag and have a presence here, overall that would give the international traveller, be it business or tourist persons, a positive image of Guyana that we have international endorsement by a major company,” he said.
He also urged Guyanese hoteliers to aggressively market their properties to confront competition from bigger international hotels.  “They need to get more proactive in their marketing, they need to get more proactive in increasing their standards of operation to compete,” he said.
It is interesting to note also that Mr. Stephens has been operating hotels in Guyana and in Trinidad and Tobago altogether for more than 20 years.