The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is continuing with its efforts to highlight the importance of tourism to the national economy and says it is the second largest export sector.
In a release, the Authority stated that tourism has long been regarded as one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and has made significant contribution towards sustainable development. In fact, Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy highlights tourism as a priority value-adding sector requiring increased investment and that level of priority is supported by a growing body of data.
Based on an analysis of the Visitor Expenditure and Motivation survey (VEMS) done by the Bureau of Statistics, the GTA estimates that the average expenditure per international traveller per visit was $222,216 in 2018. With 286,732 total visitors last year, it is estimated that travel and tourism injected approximately $62.6 billion directly into Guyana’s economy, making tourism its second largest export sector.