Above: the new Guyana Marriott in Georgetown

By the Caribbean Journal staff

It’s one of the Caribbean’s far under-the-radar destinations, but Guyana is showing significant tourism growth this year.

The country received 46,369 visitor arrivals in the first quarter of 2015, a 13.9 percent increase over the same period in 2014, according to new data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

That was boosted by 19.4 percent growth in tourism from the United States, with a total of 18,246 tourists.

Guyana also saw 12.9 percent growth from regions outside of the US, UK and Canada.

The country got a major boost to its tourism product with the addition of a new Marriott hotel in Georgetown in April, which could bode well for its tourism numbers the rest of the year.