KIAMESHA LAKE – Hundreds of people, including state, county and local officials, as well as members from the Sullivan County business community, celebrated the grand opening of the Kartrite Indoor Waterpark and Resort.
Kartrite, adjacent Resorts World Catskills, had its soft opening weeks ago. The official official ribbon cutting for the 320-room resort was held Friday.
The resort, complete with restaurants, full indoor waterpark, arcade and entertainment venues was described by developers and the managing firm, Benchmark, as being a total-package vacation destination that provides children, teens and adults a unique and equally entertaining experience.
Kartrite is yet another example of Sullivan’s rapidly redeveloping tourism economy and is part of a collective of destinations Sullivan business leaders and elected officials say is making the county a top, global destination for entertainment and tourism.
Benchmark CEO Alex Cabanas said they have plenty of experience with running operations in places similar to Sullivan.
“We are a company that is involved in a lot of situations like this, where cities, municipalities, counties are wanting a destination, wanting some entertainment, some complex that will bring group business, tourism and travel,” said Cabanas. “I would say over half of our properties are somehow involved in generating economy in an area that needs it; so, we’re just proud to be a part of it.”
Kartrite currently has 400 employees and is expecting another 50 by the end of the summer. They estimate that they will host 800 to 1,200 visitors per day and expect to have approximately 100,000 per year.
Thompson Town Supervisor William Reiber said it’s really encouraging to see the Catskills region continuing to grow as a major tourism destination, like it once was before times of economic hardship.
“It puts us back on the map as far as a resort destination,” Reiber said. “In years past, we had many hotels – Kutsher’s, Concord, Raleigh and whatever. They were all good properties to start with, now they’re being redeveloped in a modern event, where people are actually going to come and frequent them and enjoy themselves. That’s really what we’re looking for.”
Reiber estimates for the Town of Thompson alone, Kartrite will generate approximately $1 million in economic impact annually.
Although Cabanas said the resort is quite capable of being a one-stop destination for visitors, they are more focused on having Kartrite create community economic growth and a multiplier effect within the surrounding area’s economy.
