By Aabigayle McIntosh

Tourism stakeholders are reveling in the opening of the Royalton Chic Antigua Resort heralding it as yet another major boost to the thriving tourism industry in Antigua and Barbuda.

The resort is now open to guests and is actively accepting bookings after officially announcing its Facebook Page on Monday. The hotel has a ‘party your way’ concept, where every moment is tailored to one’s desires.

Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez is among the first set of officials welcoming this excitement in the industry.

“We really, really needed to do something with, as I said it was in a very awful condition. Thankful, and excited that we were able to pull it off with the Royalton Chic,” Minister Fernandez said.

Formerly the Halcyon Hotel, the property at Dickenson Bayhas created hundreds of jobs, with more on offer in the coming months.

It is also been seen as a significant boost for the country’s hotel room stock, as the government moves to drive further growth in the crucial sector.

“Now we have more quality rooms, it means therefore that what we are charging for rooms it maybe ten times higher than what was there before. We add to that which is even more important the fact that we have some 400 people employed which means we’re providing a livelihood for hundreds of families,” the Minister outlined.

Meanwhile, the government has indicated that it is on track to reaching its target regarding growing the country’s room stock by 2025.

Minister Fernandez alluded to that by noting “In terms of planned developments and staff, we will be within 50,000. Be reminded that this includes Airbnb properties that are coming onstream every month and most of these are owned by over very own Antiguans and Barbudans”.

The Royalton Chic is opening at a time when the government of Antigua and Barbuda is working to secure accommodations for thousands of guests who are expected to be in attendance at the 4^th International Conference of Small Island Developing Sates or SIDS4.