The first casino in Guyana will open this weekend as the small South American country looks to boost its fledgling tourism industry.
Oguz Tayanc is the operations director for the Turkish-owned Princess Casino Guyana. He has said that the casino’s biggest challenge will be marketing itself because the country attracts fewer than 300,000 tourists annually. The casino’s management plans to offer package tours combining visits with stops in countries such as Suriname, Trinidad and Belize.
Locals are barred from gambling at the casino unless they are registered as guests at the 150-room hotel in which it is housed. The restrictions were imposed after church groups in the socially conservative nation protested, saying the casino would lead to “moral decay.”
