Following the production of the Guyana Homecoming 2015 video which has attracted widespread criticism, the Ministry of Tourism has lashed back at its critics deeming them unpatriotic.
Since the video was posted several days ago, it received immediate criticism with Guyanese disparaging everything from the editing of the video to Minister Irfaan Ali’s attire. The ministry was also criticized for allegedly removing negative comments on its video.
The criticisms extended to the point where a video was made in response to the one produced by the Tourism Ministry. The satirical video featured a voiceover of the Minister from the original video and used footage of negative elements of Guyana including homeless persons, excessive garbage and stray animals.
The original video has since been taken down and the ministry subsequently issued a press statement, stating that it was “troubled” about the negative reactions.
“While we remain tolerant and respectful of everyone’s opinion, the recent comments/posts…are shocking and point to a troubling trend; as a society, not only are we encouraging unpatriotic thinking but we are descending into the abyss of negativity that will have lasting effects,” the ministry said in its statement.
The release went on, “As a nation we need to be more responsible in our actions and we need to recognize that negative publicity about Guyana is eroding the strides made in marketing and promoting the country as a premier tourist destination. Moreover, we need to open our eyes to the fact that once negative comments and stories are written, we cannot retract them and they are available for the world to see.” Some commenters on the satirical video agreed with the ministry and deemed the new video unpatriotic and a terrible portrayal of Guyana. Other commenters lauded the video’s harshness and expressed the belief that the ministry’s video was misleading and insulting to Guyanese as a whole.
According to the ministry, all Guyanese have a right not only to promote the country but also protect its image.
The ministry further said that Guyana’s tourism industry is under transformation with renewed energy being placed on promoting, marketing and developing tourism. Since the satirical video cropped up late Tuesday evening it has been viewed nearly 10,000 times.
