On a visit to the United Kingdom President Irfaan Ali has reportedly been talking up Guyana’s tourism sector during a roundtable discussion with businessmen from the United Kingdom and the European Union and making clear his administration’s preparedness to embrace a ‘big player’ in the sector, the Department of Public Information says.
The disclosure, the state information agency says, was a microcosm of a more expansive presentation by the President during which he reportedly ‘talked up’ a local multi-dimensional tourism sector which successive political administrations have tried but fail to successfully ‘sell’ to a lucrative international tourism market.
“We need a big player in the market, and I’m telling you, the government is ready to support such a player. We are ready to work on a long-term arrangement in bringing that player into the market,” the Guyanese President said, asserting that there is need for a ‘re-engineering’ of the way in which the country’s mostly nature-based tourism sector is seen. The DPI quotes the President as calling for a “re-engineering” of the way in which the tourism industry is seen, asserting that it was his hope that the discourse with the British and other European tourism officials would have addressed what is required for Guyana to attain its potential of becoming a major player in the sector.
President Ali reportedly pointed to the differences in the tourism product offered by different countries in the Caribbean pointing out that while the Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean focus on exotic tourism packages based on blue water and white sand this product could be combined with the nature-based tourism which Guyana has to offer, the combination serving to provide the market with a whole new product. they could offer the same services in Guyana while combining it with Barbados to offer a whole new product.
“So you take, three in Barbados and three in Guyana, and you get two rich experiences. That is where the real opportunity is,” the Guyanese President is quoted as saying.
In addressing the scope which the hemisphere has for the further expansion of its tourism product the Guyanese President reportedly told the gathering in London that while that region is home to the Amazon rainforest which includes countless species of flora and fauna, it does not boast a “true nature park” where visitors can experience all the different species in the Amazon.
