Dear Editor,
It is unfortunate that Minister Manniram Prashad has considered it necessary to respond to my description of our tourist industry as being in crisis as a result of the horrific violence in Lusignan and Bartica, by resorting to highly intemperate, hostile and, even libelous remarks, by accusing me of telling “blatant lies”.
It is the Minister’s job to protect and promote the welfare of those of us who have invested considerable sums of money in the industry, not call us liars when we bring to his attention the realities we face in the industry. My company, for instance, has invested substantially in building a quality nature resort in the Essequibo River. What has the Minister invested that he dares to libel me in this fashion?
It is exceedingly foolish of him to make statements which are reported internationally that everything is fine and dandy in Guyana and that there is no problem, and then juggle arrival statistics to give the impression that the number of tourist visits to Guyana has not suffered.
I am not in the habit of lying. I take great care in the profession I practise to check my facts before going public with them. The latest official Guyana Tourism Authority Director’s Report for February 2008, states “tourist arrivals” for January ‘07 as 8,983 compared with January ’08 as 7,619; for February ’07 as 8,496 compared with February ’08 as 6,286 (a 26% reduction). The March figures are not yet officially available for ’08. Tourist arrivals in March ’07 were 13,977 as a result of World Cup Cricket.
The Minister appears to be using total visitor arrivals which do not exclude non-residents and foreign passport holders, in other words, are not representative of tourist arrivals.
Instead of issuing misleading statements about arrivals, the Minister should have his Ministry provide him with information directly from the hospitality industry and realistically assess the damage which has been done and how the government can help in providing support and relief.
As I pointed out at the THAG Awards Dinner on Friday last, 4th April, 2008, when I spoke, it is better to face the fact that the impression abroad is that “Guyana does not appear to be a safe place to visit at this time” and that the message we need to send is that we are taking all of the necessary steps to confront and control the violence and make it safe.
There is nothing negative about the position I have taken. Quite the opposite. We will be respected for acknowledging reality and being willing and, hopefully, able to deal with it.
The problem with the Minister and, other Ministers too, is that every criticism, no matter how constructive and well intended, is deemed to be negative and treated as unwelcome.
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that our hoteliers, our resorts and our lodges have suffered significant cancellations as a direct result of the violence. My own resort certainly has. We have suffered domestic and foreign cancellations.
I know that one of our major tour operators has suffered cancellation of a birding tour, both from the fact of the violence and the fact that our rates, which include VAT, are just too high compared with Belize, Costa Rica and Panama. A directive from the British High Commission, thankfully now changed as a result of the intervention of THAG and resort owners in the Essequibo, advised the world “against all but essential travel to the East Coast, Bartica and the tourist resorts along the Essequibo”. The US State Department advised that “US citizens should carefully consider the risks of travel to Guyana”. The Canadian government advised that “Canadians should exercise a high degree of caution at all times”. All these advisories followed the tragedies in Lusignan and Bartica.
At the dinner I made an appeal for government to support the industry by relieving it of VAT or some portion of VAT. I pointed out that many countries with VAT grant special relief to their tourist industries to make their prices competitive. I noted that, for instance, Barbados with a 15% VAT has reduced it to 7.5% for the hospitality industry, Trinidad allow Tour Operators to exclude VAT from overseas sales and to reclaim VAT on local sales, Dominica with 15% VAT has reduced it to 10% for hotels. Jamaica with 15% VAT, has reduced it to 5.9% for the tourism sector and Bahamas with a 6% VAT requires 2.4% for the tourism industry in high season and 1.8% in the low season.
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THAG has requested meetings with the Minister months ago without a response. Instead of indulging in misleading propaganda and being publicly abusive, Mr Minister, I sincerely recommend that you sit down with the industry and talk with us. It’s our business and our money at risk and our interest to have a successful tourism industry.
As for the Minister not being able to respond to me at the THAG Dinner, I did not think he really needed a platform when he has NCN TV and Radio and the Chronicle readily at his disposal.
Yours faithfully,
Kit Nascimento
