By the Caribbean Journal staff

Dominica’s hotel sector will soon get a boost from the country’s government, according to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

The move was announced by Skerrit at the 2012-2013 budget presentation.

Dominica currently has a special regime of concessions to assist hoteliers to enhance their current stock of rooms, although it is somewhat untapped, he said.

“Some have made use of this facility, but there are those who have not been able to do so, because of their inability to make the necessary investments,” he said. “Towards that end, government has agreed to make available an amount of EC $10 million at special interest rates to assist those hoteliers who are willing to upgrade their rooms.”

From 2010 to 2011, eight new hotels and guests houses became operational Dominica, according to data from the Discover Dominica Authority.

The government is pushing to increase that stock, Skerrit said, including a proposed new hotel in the Roseau area.

Another proejct on the agenda is a new, 58-room hotel in the Cabrits. That facility is being constructed with financing from the Kingdom of Morocco.