Dear Editor,
It saddens me to see illicit drugs sold, drug addicts being used as cheap labour, sex workers plying their trade during evening hours and piles upon piles of rubbish each time I visit our local markets. And those are just a few of the ugliness of our local markets, municipal, community and other types. Fortunately, I have been privileged to travel and live in a few countries where I observed their markets places were treasured, so much so that these markets were tourist attractions. I’m also visited and experienced themed markets such as an Organic Market in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Sadly, this is not the case for Guyana. Visit any local market and you will observe confusion, an order that stems from disorder, drug addicts being used to carry various pieces of market stands and dumb rubbish and the list goes on.
Take Thailand for example. Food markets are all the rage in Thailand. You can find all sorts of local delicious foods, some traditional and others more suit for the exotic palate. In many parts of Canada, Farmer’s Markets are the rage. In London, you can visit markets which comprise a mix of entertainment i.e. restaurants, live music and other forms of entertainment, antique items and butcheries establishments at markets such as Portobello Market and Camden Market among others. Come on Guyanese, can we not do better or do we not care to do better? My letter is not a rebuke, it is pointing out the obvious and hopefully several opportunities for the Government of the day, investors, the Tourism and Hospitality Association, communities, municipal leaders, market vendors, Guyanese citizens and visitors to our country to demand better, to invest and to push Guyana to become known for its market tourism in this part of the world.
The recently signed MoU between the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture is a good framework to begin seriously planning for market tourism in Guyana.
Sincerely,
Rawle A. Small
