Underscoring that as part of a diversified economy the tourism sector will play an integral role, President Irfaan Ali said that the government will provide support to locals who see a future in building this country’s unique product, but urged that those investments should start swiftly.
To tap into the over US$9 trillion global industry, Ali advised, consortiums should be formed and partnerships entered into as more can be done jointly as compared to “working in silos”.
“We see tourism as a central part of the growth story for our country. Tourism is going to be one of the main components of the structure of our economy, now and in the future. Tourism has an important place in the future. I am not saying hotels or rooms, I am saying tourism. We have to now work on building a structure around this model because it has to be an economic model,” the President said in his address to the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana’s (THAG) Annual President’s Award Dinner and Auction, held on Saturday night at the Marriott Hotel.