Seven years after the launch of the Wedding Expo product by the Roraima Group of Companies, Chief Executive Officer Captain Gerry Gouveia has told Stabroek Business that the absence of legislation to better facilitate Wedding Tourism in Guyana amounts to “an opportunity that we continue to pass up” to broaden the base of the local tourism industry.
Wedding Tourism has long been a lucrative sub-sector in the Caribbean tourism sector and Gouveia told Stabroek Business that the reason for its relative lack of success here has to do with the fact that prevailing legislation dictates that expatriates wishing to tie nuptials in Guyana must be in the country for around two weeks before they are allowed to do so. “The waiting period is much shorter elsewhere in the region, a matter of a few days, and understandably that situation is much more attractive for people who simply want to fly in, get married, enjoy a nature-filled honeymoon here than leave,” he said. “I have been discussing the issue of looking at the legislation to make the lead time shorter with local officials for some time now but, frankly, there is no evidence that any progress has been made.”
Gouveia said he had learnt that the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), the Guyana Tourism Authority and the