By Amos Sarrouy:
Based on an interview with Sophia Dannervig Hauch and Anders Andersen
Guyana is only benefiting minimally from a tourism industry that delivers far greater returns to other countries in South America.
In 2010, 5.28 million visitors spent US$4.93 billion in Argentina. Brazil raked in US$5.9 billion from the 5.1 million people who visited the country that year. Even Venezuela, not known for its tourism product has fared reasonably well. Last year the oil-rich republic had over 300,000 visitors. Guyana has had few visitors by comparison. In recent years, visitors categorised as tourists have numbered, at best, a few thousand. And even then, numbered among those have been Guyanese residing in the diaspora and returning to Guyana for one reason or another.
With its extraordinary beauty and unique culture the question persists as to why