Elements of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) such as improved hinterland infrastructure, social services to communities and improved telecommunication will assist tourism development, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad says.
In a written response to a question submitted by AFC member, Sheila Holder, the minister said the LCDS will not require Guyana to stop using the forests or to significantly change the way the forests are used. He said Guyana’s forests are a critical element of the tourism product and the basis upon which significant strides were made in developing birding tourism, adventure tourism, and nature-based and eco tourism. It is for these reasons that tourism is one of the priority sectors within the LCDS, Prashad said.
He said Guyana’s climate change advocacy and the LCDS have gained international recognition and placed the country on the world stage in a positive way and the tourism sector will be one of the first to benefit from this. “The tourism sector will position itself to maximize opportunities created by the LCDS and in so doing will continue to improve in areas such as branding and marketing, airlift capacity, human resource development across our country,” he said.
In response to another question by Holder, he said that last year, Guyana’s interior lodges (Surama, Nappi, Iwokrama, Dadanawa, Karanumbu and Rewa) operated at an average of 78% occupancy while coastal accommodation establishments operated at an approximate 60% occupancy.
