By Karen Abrams
I have met Captain Gerry Gouevia, the Chief Executive Officer of Roraima Airways. I get the impression that he is both a successful businessman and a patriotic Guyanese. His mission, as I understand it is to provide an eco-tourism experience for visitors to Guyana. His businesses provide scores of jobs for Guyanese and also have a positive direct and trickle down effect on revenue accruing to the state.
Its is entirely commonplace than when successful and influential businessmen makes comments on national economic issues you tend to take notice of those comments. I have heard from Captain Gouveia and from a few other Guyanese businessmen on issues like the value Added Tax, crime and security, the cost of living and various other issues. I value the comments of the private sector because I have found that official points-of-view, that is, views expressed by the state, are often designed to evoke a particular response and cannot therefore be relied upon to address all of the various nuances that might make for an informed assessment. That is why overseas-based Guyanese, potential investors and potential tourists depend heavily on the pronouncements of the private sector. There always is that feeling that businessmen are more concerned with pragmatism and that politicians, on the other hand, have a preference for “window dressing.”
Of course, I also believe that a vocal, vibrant private sector is a strong indicator of a democratic environment. Heated exchanges between government and other stakeholders over issues that are critical to the country’s economy are entirely permissible and highly desirable in a democratic society and I hope that the day never comes when either government or the business community in Guyana loses sight of that fact.
From time to time I have heard various interesting comments emanating from stakeholders in the Guyana tourism sector on the state of the industry. The hotel and hospitality sector, for example, into which significant investments were sunk prior to Cricket World Cup last year, appears to be under serious pressure and of course, empty hotel rooms mean no revenue for hoteliers. “Hotel blues” have a knock-on effect since apart from the likelihood of job losses, there are also implications for sales of food supplies and other requisites associated with the sector.
As far as the airline industry is concerned we have just learnt that North American Airlines will surrender its Guyana service shortly. I worry about these developments because I have long decided that I simply will not give up on Guyana.
Although the effects of a 16% VAT rate, the current crime problems and deficiencies in the implementation of a cohesive tourism strategy have affected their businesses, it appears that few private sector leaders in the tourism sector have sought to share their pain publicly. They have simply suffered in silence. What they appear not to recognize is that tourism is a national initiative and that to the extent that business owners who are impacted by the issues confronting the industry voice their concerns, then, to that extent, they move a step closer to resolving those issues.
I find it strange, therefore, that the private sector in Guyana remains conspicuously silent on the myriad issues affecting the long-term viability of the tourtism sector and – admittedly from my vantage point – the argument about not wanting to upset the government is not an acceptable one since the silence is likely to be even more counterproductive for the tourism sector and the government, in the longer term, anyway
No one doubts that there exists a very viable market for tourism in Guyana. Exploiting that market, however, requires far more effort than a simple declaration that Guyana ‘open to tourists.’ So what! Do we have any idea of the number of other countries that are more than open to tourists?
Creating a viable tourism strategy is a dynamic process which requires, among other things, a keen understanding of competitors’ target markets; providing efficient channels of communication among the stakeholders in the industry and securing the broadest possible national commitment to providing visitors with an exciting and unforgettable experience.
The visitor experience begins with the first communication that is sent to the client; and Guyana tends to fall at this very first hurdle. Invariably there is not enough life, enough or enough “oomph” is the messages that we disseminate to potential tourists. That communication must be strong enough and attractive enough to over ride the impact of the negative US State Department travel advisory which the visitor will invariably read before visiting Guyana. The message must spark a prior sense of excitement and anticipation and once the visitor arrives here Guyana must then proceed to deliver on the promises contained in the communication.
