Visit Rupununi and the Guyana LGBTQ+ Coalition yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which declared the Rupununi a safe tourism zone for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The agreement—the first of its kind—formalized their partnership to achieve sustainable tourism which is LGBTQ-inclusive and friendly, thus making the Rupununi region a safe, inclusive destination for them to travel and experience.
Among its responsibilities under the agreement, is for the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD)—the founder and convenor of the coalition body—to develop a service through which the coalition can in turn direct travellers to the Rupununi.
Apart from the coalition, however, SASOD will develop its own travel service which LGBTQ+ tourists can utilize to book local tourism services and receive peer support from LGBTQ+ people in Guyana.
Under the agreement, the coalition also has responsibility to continue promoting LGBTQ+ rights especially in the Rupununi region, and provide support for LGBTQ+ tourists in Guyana.
It also agrees to provide training to members of Visit Rupununi on LGBTQ+ issues, in order to sensitize their representatives. Following the training, participants will be awarded a certificate.
Meanwhile, under the agreement, Visit Rupununi has a responsibility to “promote respect of all people regardless of sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression [which] includes promoting respect and understanding of sexual and gender diversity among its membership.”
As a shared responsibility, the parties to the agreement are to “mobilize resources together, seeking opportunities for funding and projects related to [their] purpose…in order to deepen and develop partnership.”
Speaking at the signing ceremony, SASOD’s Managing Director Joel Simpson, hailed the agreement as a progressive one which he said has the potential of bringing in revenues instead of Guyana “losing out” because of its reputation of being homophobic and having laws which support homophobia.
On this point he said that the information first provided to LGBTQ+ persons by travel advisory services, is where they can go when considering tourist destinations, or what kind of laws those countries have.
Against this background he said that when using popular web-based applications, one of the first things that pop up is a warning that Guyana has laws which criminalize sex between men.
Simpson said that because of those laws, policies, lack of protection, high incidents of hate crime and violence, slow responses and in many instances inadequate mechanisms for accessing justice; the country misses out on what he said is an otherwise huge opportunity.
Evidenced by the MoU, he said that certainly from a business perspective, the private sector understands that there is no room for discrimination, “because money doesn’t discriminate.”
Meanwhile, President of Visit Rupununi Melanie McTurk, expressed her delight at being associated with the initiative.
She said that before the pandemic, the pink economy stood at an estimated worth of US$3.6 trillion worldwide, and that the LGBTQ travel market was worth more than US$218 billion globally; noting the integral component of spending on expensive goods and services, such as restaurants, clothing, and luxury travel.
McTurk said that research shows that among this population, individuals are more aware than others of the need to feel safe when travelling and as a group, pay close attention to the brands that pay attention to and can treat them with respect.
“Through our collaboration with the LGBTQ+ coalition we will be taking the first steps to ensuring that the Rupununi is a region that is safe and welcoming to all persons regardless of our race, class, or sexual orientation,” she said.
The Guyana LGBTQ+ Coalition comprises three organizations; the Guyana Trans United, SASOD and the women-led rights-based SWAG; the coalition’s newest member.
Visit Rupununi has as its aim; to develop, improve and promote the sustainable tourism offer in the Rupununi through building the capacity of local communities and tourism stakeholders.
The MoU works on establishing standards on quality and safety while conserving the nature-based, traditional heritage of the Rupununi, and marketing the region as a single destination with a wide variety of offers.
