President Donald Ramotar has pledged government’s continued support to the tourism sector, saying that Guyana has the potential to become the Caribbean region’s number one tourist destination.
Ramotar, addressing the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana annual awards ceremony and dinner last Saturday evening, said that tourism “is a growing and new sector in our society… those clever business people would do well as they have a great advantage to establish themselves in the industry as we will have a rush coming to the sector over the coming years as Guyana is an extremely beautiful country,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) has reported.
The annual event was hosted under the theme “Building Partnerships for the future of Guyana’s Tourism” at the Princess Hotel, Providence.
Ramotar emphasised Guyana’s potential, while pointing to possibilities for eco-tourism, yachting, and wild life along with a number of other tourism activities.
“Government is going to strongly support this industry as this is linked with the development of other sectors… many Guyanese have migrated without the opportunity to experience all of its beauties…these would be one of our target markets,” he observed.
However, he acknowledged that there are some impediments that pose a threat to the development of a thriving tourism sector and said that government will step up to the challenge and coordinate with other stakeholders to resolve these problems on a sustainable basis.
Among the problems identified was the garbage in the capital city. Ramotar assured that government will inject the needed finances to clean up the city, saying that the garbage situation poses a threat to the promotion of the country’s tourism industry.
“We will have to find a permanent solution by involving stakeholders to ensure the city maintains a standard… the objective is to have Georgetown return to the standard which it once had of being the garden city,” he said.
Meanwhile, GINA quoted Executive Chairman of REDjet Ian Burns as saying that it is a widely accepted fact that Guyana is a place with many booming sectors, such as tourism, with oil and natural gases soon to be discovered.
“Guyana is well positioned for a number of tourism activities such as eco-tourism and wildlife, coupled with the fact that Guyana has a rich culture and friendly people, nevertheless tourism cannot go forward without collaboration,” Burns said.
He noted that REDjet strives to capture the attention of tourists destined for the Caribbean and other destinations by providing affordable airfares.
Burns added that a regional collaboration would see regional integration amassing economic and social growth for all, while noting that because of collaboration with Guyana’s tourism industry and REDjet, the airline flew more than 30,000 passengers to Guyana in December 2011.
At the awards ceremony, a number of members and partners of the tourism sector were recognized for their contributions and commitment to the sustainable development and promotion of the tourism industry. The ceremony saw Rewa Lodge being adjudged the Outstanding Resort of the Year, while Andy Correia was awarded for being Bird Guide of the Year and Air Guyana and Jerries received the Product Development Award.
Some of the other awardees included Karanambu Lodge Inc, which was awarded for Exemplary Performance – Safety and Standards Award; Demerara Distillers was recognized as patron of THAG; Bushmasters was awarded the Industry Award for Long Service & Contribution to the sector; Rock View received award for the Outstanding Contribution by a member company; and the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph company was recognized as a sponsor of THAG, GINA stated.
