Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson has refuted a claimed decrease in the number of Cuban nationals visiting Guyana for business.
In a full-page advertisement that was published in the July 26th edition of the Stabroek News and repeated in following days, it was claimed that within the previous two months businesspersons who have been catering to the needs of the Cuban visitors have seen a decrease.
“It’s been about two months since business has been slow in Guyana. The Cubans who have been flocking [the] Guyanese market are now shopping elsewhere, mostly Suriname,” the advert stated.
Patterson, in responding to the advertisement on his Facebook page, said a check revealed that airlines operating between Cuba and Guyana have seen an increase in passengers. For Copa Airlines, he said, there was a 44% increase for the first half of the year, while Aruba Air saw an increase of 26% when compared to first half of 2018. Caribbean Airlines, the minister said, recorded a 4% increase.
“Aruba [Air] and Copa [Airlines] carry mainly Cuban passengers, thus it is safe to assume that the traffic between Cuba and Guyana has actually increased rather than decreased,” the minister stated in his post.
Additionally, statistics provided by the Guyana Tourism Authority show that as of March, 2019, 17,978 Cubans had visited for the year, as opposed to 18,146 between January and March, 2018. For the year 2018, a total of 74,209 Cubans were recorded as having visited.
In the advertisement, it was stated that factors such as crime, increased hotel fares, limited flights between Guyana and Cuban and airlines baggage restriction and high importation tax have contributed to Cuban nationals seeking an alternative to Guyana.
It was pointed out that airlines operating in Suriname, namely Suriname Airways and Copa Air, are offering daily flights between Cuba and Suriname.
It was further stated that businesses are fearful of the potential market loss and called for “government’s intervention” to address the situation.
A report published by United News Suriname stated that the presence of visiting Cubans in the neighbouring country has increased, with close to approximately 500 and 600 visiting each month.
The April 2019 report stated that, with four weekly flights by Fly All Ways, persons are travelling to the country for business.
The report pointed out that because of better security and cheaper commodities, Cubans are opting to fly to Suriname instead of Guyana.
Recently Stabroek News reported that there was a growing presence of Cubans in commercial activities in the city to meet the needs of their fellow nationals. Some have taken up employ in the private sector as sales representatives, taxi drivers, construction workers and food vendors.
