The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) says it is astonished at government’s reported plan to shift the tourism portfolio to the Minister of Business and it charged that APNU+AFC’s manifesto commitments remain “largely undelivered”.
In a statement yesterday, THAG said that at the start of the new government’s term in office, it welcomed the appointment of Catherine Hughes as a standalone Minister of Tourism. She was later entrusted with responsibility for Public Telecommunications. THAG contended that the tourism portfolio has been “drastically diluted over the last twelve months” leading to the proposed shifting of the portfolio from Hughes to Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin.
“If the current Minister of Public Telecommunications, with a strong background in and understanding of the industry, is too busy to address the needs of the industry, how could an equally demanding portfolio of the Minister of Business be able to devote attention to the Tourism Sector?” THAG questioned
THAG emphasised that it is vital to the industry’s development to have a Minister who has the time to focus on the sector and understands the needs of the industry and auxiliary areas such as transportation, agriculture, culture, arts and craft.
“We have noted … commitments to foster sector growth in the government’s manifesto, but with two budgets presented, this commitment remains largely undelivered. THAG now believes that the steps taken by government in the last year in the administration of the sector are regressive and disadvantageous to our development”, THAG asserted.
The association said that the tourism sector has been dedicatedly focusing on answering President David Granger’s call for a Green Economy and believes that tourism is one of the few sustainable pillars in the country’s economy.
“The Government of Guyana identified that tourism contributes 9% of revenue per annum to the GDP and the recently produced report from the Tax Advisory Board stated that because the capital/labour ratio is low, tourism is one of the sectors with the greatest job creation potential; however, no allowances have been made to build the industry. Imagine what the industry could achieve with our own dedicated Minister of Tourism”, THAG stated.
It said that it wanted to make clear that the Association has no problem with Minister Gaskin but only wishes that the Tourism Industry be afforded serious commitment via a standalone Minister. THAG said that just ended Jubilee celebrations offered an excellent example of tourism’s impact on the economy.
“We all witnessed the trickle-down effect to market vendors, the impact on the local supermarkets overwhelmed due to increased demand, locations booked for events, craft shops with a surge of visitors seeking souvenirs, tours booked for locations across the country; such as Kaieteur Falls, accommodation fully booked, airlines with all seats confirmed, dining establishments on rotation trying to keep up with the constant flow of visitors and said visitors about to return to their homelands with good news of a booming destination and plans to return in the New Year. This is but one event, however many other opportunities exist for our booming destination that will require constant effort and engagement with the travelling public and industry operators, hence the need for a committed standalone Minister”, the Association said.
Noting that 2015 was a productive year for the sector, THAG said that having a Minister who understood the needs and the concerns of the sector and was able to make representation on its behalf at the regional and international arena was very well received. THAG added that in the past year, it has been able increase its product development and marketing budget for the sector. It said that it was also able to enlist the support of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation to aid the implementation of the Tourism Satellite Accounting System in Guyana and recommit to a Destination Guyana Marketing Plan.
