Wonderland Tours says it will continue to pursue legal action over its expulsion from the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) over what the association’s President Paul Stephenson says are “reports made … by members of the private sector, the industry and by visitors to the destination” regarding “a recurring pattern of complaints” against the tour operators.
Wonderland Tours was a founder-member of THAG. Its proprietors, Alisha Ousman and Mario Figueira, told Stabroek Business earlier this week that their decision to press ahead with the lawsuit has to do with the fact that THAG might have been responsible for adding insult to injury by having Wonder-land’s online profile with the prestigous World Travel Market deactivated.
Stabroek Business has seen a copy of an advisory to Wonderland Tours from World Travel Market dated October 26, 2010, three weeks after its explusion from THAG, notifying the tour operator that its profile with the international tourism body had been deactiviated following “a request from the Guyana Tourism Authority.”
Ousman said Wonderland Tours was only able to participate in the World Travel Market last year following the intervention of Tourism Minister Manniram Prashad.
In a telephone interview with Stabroek Business on Tuesday evening, Prashad confirmed that he had been approached by Wonderland Tours with a complaint that attempts were being made to block its participation at the World Travel Market and that he had interverned. “As far as I am aware they did well at that event,” Prashad said.
Prashad said his ministry was not a part of any decision to impose any sanctions against Wonderland Tours. “As the minister responsible for tourism, I do not have to ask THAG to impose any disciplinary action against Wonderland Tours or any other tour operator for that matter. I have no problem with them. As far as I am concerned Wonderland Tours is a legitimate part of the sector. THAG represents less than ten per cent of the tourism sector [and is] not really in a position to prevent anyone’s partici-pation in an overseas tourism event,” Prashad said.
When Stabroek Business contacted THAG, Executive Secretary Trina Butts said she was not in a position to comment on the issue since it was currently engaging the attention of the courts. Butts promised, however, to raise this newspaper’s enquiry with Stephenson who is currently out of the country.
Wonderland Tours was expelled from THAG last October following a September 30, 2010 meeting which Ousman and Figueira attended after a verbal summons from THAG. In a letter to Ousman and Figueira dated October 6, 2010, a copy of which was made available to this newspaper, Stephenson notified them of the THAG executive’s decision to “revoke your membership in good faith.” However, Ousman told Stabroek Business that the entire procedure that led to her company’s expulsion amounted to a departure from the process of natural justice. “We were never written to about any complaints and we were never told what these complaints were,” Ousman said.
She said she and her hus-band had left the September 30 meeting prematurely in protest against the manner in which it was being conducted. The couple then wrote a letter to members of the THAG board, describing as “unprofessional” the decision by THAG “to address our issues at a private board meeting. We felt it would’ve been better to explain ourselves to the President of THAG face to face before reaching this level.”
Further, the letter warned that “persons within THAG or the tourism sector found slandering our company’s name will receive letters from our lawyers.”
Stabroek Business has also seen a widely circulated memorandum from five-time president of THAG and Chief Executive Officer of the Roraima Group of Companies Captain Gerry Gouveia whose company is represented on the THAG board. Gouveia’s strongly worded communication stated that Wonderland Tours had been expelled from THAG “without due process being followed” insofar as “the member was never written to” nor “given time to prepare a response.” Asserting that the executive did not follow THAG’s Articles of Association, Gouveia noted that Wonder-land Tours was “never written to outlining the details of the complaints or charges. In my view, the rights of Wonderland Tours have been seriously violated.”
