As far as the traditional Caribbean tourist destinations are concerned, Mr. Stephenson told us that he believed that their product was overpriced, that standards were falling and that the traditional sun, sand and sea destinations in the region were losing market share to destinations in Africa and elsewhere. Part of the reason for this – at least as far as visitors from the United Kingdom are concerned – is the imposition of an additional tax on airline tickets by the British Government which, of course, makes the cost of visiting the Caribbean much higher. In effect this means, first, that eco-tourist destinations in this part of the world could gain ground on the traditional sun, sand and sea destinations and, secondly, that the additional airline tax which visitors from the UK are now required to pay will probably haunt the Caribbean destinations long after the global tourism industry recovers from the current crisis.
Mr. Stephenson asserted too that tourists were indeed coming to Guyana though he conceded that the numbers needed to grow. That, he said, would take time since, he pointed out, the building of a successful tourism sector was a long-haul pursuit. With regard to the proliferation of hotels built prior to Cricket World Cup in 2007 and the consequential surfeit of unoccupied bedrooms Mr. Stephenson said that he believes that notwithstanding the current situation, these were worthwhile investments. It is, he said, a “chicken and egg’ situation.” In this case the hotels have come first.”
Mr. Stephenson suggested that we look at the tourism sector in Guyana in the context of the market opportunities that will be created by a possible increase in tourist arrivals in Suriname next year and by the opening of the Takutu Bridge and what it could mean for increased visitor arrivals in the Rupununi from Brazil. Additionally, he said he felt that the Government of Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy would actually work to the advantage of the tourism sector insofar as it would help protect the natural environment which is central to our tourism product.
“Patience and professionalism” are the qualities which Mr. Stephenson says are required in approaching the development of the tourism industry; patience, he said, from the standpoint the tourism sector unlike agriculture sector, does not grow on the basis of planting a seed and securing returns in a few months. As far as professionalism is concerned we understood Mr. Stephenson to be saying that the sector needs to be managed by systems and skills that take account of all of the various considerations that shape the industry.
Marketing is one of those issues that have long been felt to be deficient in the Guyana tourism sector and on the issue of financing the marketing of the Guyana tourism product Mr. Stephenson said that he believed that that was a responsibility that could be shared by both the public and private sectors. With regard to the marketing process itself he alluded to the importance of securing and properly analyzing data and deploying that information in a targeted manner that is, directing attention to particular target markets. Similarly, he said that attendance at international tourism events should also be targeted.
We welcome Mr. Stephenson’s informed assessment of the tourist industry particularly since it is usually not easy to secure an informed official perspective on its performance. Here, one of the age-old problems has been the tendering of bald official statistics that provide no transparent indication whatsoever as to the real picture regarding tourist arrivals. When we raised the issue of statistics on the sector with Mr. Stephenson he said that he believed that part of the problem lay in the fact that there was no clearing house through which statistics were compiled, analyzed and made available for the benefit of the sector. He went further, pointing out that the industry had reached a stage where the careful compilation of reliable data and analysis of that data was critical to its international marketing pursuits.
Mr. Stephenson has just been elected President of THAG and during the interview he was clear on his intention both to work towards the creation of closer collaboration among THAG, the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority and the streamlining of THAG itself so that it can play a more central role in supporting the pursuits of its members. If that collaboration can be realized and if in the process it can result in a more enlightened public understanding of the state of the tourism industry and where it might be heading that alone would have been a significant accomplishment.
