Hilton to debut Garden Inn brand in Haiti
Hilton Worldwide announced it will open its first property in Haiti with an agreement reached to build a Garden Inn branded hotel in Port-au-Prince.
Construction is due to begin in July for the 11-story property featuring 152 rooms.
A business center, fitness center, an outdoor pool, restaurant, and meeting spaces are planned at a total cost of $26 million.
This is Hilton’s first venture in the Caribbean country and only the third by a US based hotel group, following Best Western and Marriott International.
An agreement was signed with local partner Groupe CAB S.A in the presence of Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe.
Secretary of State for Tourism Jessy Menos said: "The tourism sector is in full evolution and at the Ministry, we bend over backwards to bring visitors and we are happy to see that the private sector is following suit."
Ted Middleton, Vice President of Development, Hilton Worldwide said the project will directly generate 100 jobs and a further 300 openings in indirect tourism.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization said Haiti tourism increased 20% in 2013 but is still a long way short of more established Caribbean destinations such as near neighbor Dominican Republic.
However some Haitans believe increased tourism development should not come at any cost.
Local farming communities in the offshore island of Ile-a-Vache are fighting development of a $250 million eco-tourism project which they say will forcibly strip them of land rights and homes.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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