Tourism investment and training consultant Maureen Paul has told Stabroek Business that she feels that the sector is in the doldrums.
Maureen Paul
And while she shares the view expressed by former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Shridath Ramphal regarding the fragility of the tourism product in the Caribbean she believes that it is entirely possible for countries to promote tourism while at the same time “maintaining their dignity and enhancing their image” as states in the international community.
“Of course it is true that tourism by its very nature is a fragile product and that no country ought really to build its entire economic base or even most of it on tourism. I believe, however, and Sir Shridath himself acknowledges this – that we have to take tourism seriously since the well-being of hundreds of thousands of Caribbean people depends on it. What we have to do is to ensure that we create legislation and create regulations that ensure that our people and our countries are not compromised by tourism. We need to keep our eye on the prize of being taken seriously within the international community,” Paul said.
The former Executive Director of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) , who now runs her own consultancy, Hospitality Management Services, told Stabroek Business that she believed that the Guyana tourism sector was at “an all time low.” She said that most of the local investors in the tourism sector were involved in one or another facet of the industry as a “side line” since they were substantively involved in other areas of the economy. For any number of reasons including a shortage of serious capital I doubt that we are likely to see any major investment in the growth and development of the existing facilities in the near future,” Paul said.
According to Paul while private investment in the hotel sector prior to last year’s Cricket World Cup now meant that there were now more hotel rooms available in Guyana, “the other side of the coin is that we now have a larger number of hotels most of which have a lower occupancy rate. Paul said that the current difficulties confronting the hotel sector probably have to do with a failure to undertake feasibility studies and to take advice before investing in the sector. “It ought to have been pretty clear that Cricket World Cup was only for a limited period and any sound investment in the hotel sector ought, surely, to have taken account of how those rooms would be filled once the event had ended.”
Asked what it would take to reinvigorate the tourism sector in Guyana Paul said that there are several key elements that were missing from the sector. “In the first instance there is the issue of regulation and that can only really emerge out of legislation. Then there is training. There is no professional training regimen for the tourism industry in Guyana. Then there is marketing. However much we insist to the contrary the fact is that we have no well thought out systematic plan for marketing Guyana’s tourism product in a sustainable manner.”
And according to Paul, Guyana’s tourism product was unlikely to make any real impact on the country’s economy “except we can attract real investment” into the sector from outside Guyana. She said that if that level of investment is to be attracted the onus was on government to create the enabling environment, “that is, the incentives and infrastructure encourage such investment.”
Meanwhile, Paul told Stabroek Business that she believes that there ought to a re-evaluation of the existing system in place to assess investors’ entitlement to duty-free concessions and to evaluate business plans. “One is not always entirely sure that these assessments and evaluations are realistic and what we find is that some of the decisions that arise from those evaluations are the subject of controversy. All of us are aware of cases where frustrated investors spend a great deal of time and effort trying to determine the reasons for the decisions that are made in relation to things like duty-free entitlements and seeking to get decisions that do not go in their favour changed.
Stabroek Business has learnt from the Guyana Tourism Authority that there has been an increase in visitor arrivals in Guyana during the first quarter of 2008 compared with the first quarter of 2007. However, Paul pointed out that visitor arrivals could not be used as the sole barometer of the state of health of the tourism industry, first, because, a large percentage of the visitors cannot really be classified as tourists and, secondly, because visitor arrivals do not gainsay the policy and other critical issues that constrain the growth of the local tourism sector.
Nappi is on this Tourism project for over4years,it is a community base project sponser by FosterParrots Limited,with the Guyana Goverment,with this project it is said to be benifit to the three communities,the package is there,the real senceof the bioversity remains with we the people of local handlying all the affares,but we face a situation where we don’t have touristes coming to support our EFFORTS.
Tourist visit other countries for several reasons.
1. Relaxation
2. Entertainment
3. Sight Seeing
4. Exotic foods
We have lots of space for relaxation, We don’t have enough entertainment. Tourist love variety, we need more variety. We have lots of sight seeing locations, but they are in remote areas of the country that is under developed. We need to develop the sight seeing areas. When it comes to food, no one has the varieties like Guyana do. We must promote our cultural divercity in foods.
Last but not the least, we need solid security across the country to boost tourist confidence. Also, keep the country clean. There is too much garbage around, too many animal roaming the streets. Too many stagnated trenches for the mosquito to florish. Remove the dump site out of the city.
If a serious government can address and fix these issues, we’ll see a change for the better.
IAM A GUYANESE AT HEART AND I DO LOVE MY COUNTRY BUT I HAVE SEEN THE CHANGE IN THE LAND . IT IS AN ATMOSPHERE OF FEAR AND A SENSE OF INSECURITY.ISAW THIS ON THE FACES OF MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WHEN I WAS THERE ONE YEAR AGO.THIS FEAR IS EVEN GREATER IN THE CITY,EVERYONE SAID TO ME..BY YUH LUCKY YUH DEH OUTSIDE,TING PRAPA BAD HAY.WE ARE ACCUSTOMED TO THE PICK POCKETS BUT GUNS ON THE STREETS OF GUYANA IS A TOTALLY DIFFERENT THING.MANY OF US ABROAD WANT TO COME HOME,WE WANT TO INVEST IN OUR OWN LAND.WE WANT OT COME HOME AND BRING OUR CHILDREN TO SHOW THEM OUR ROOTS…..THEIR ROOTS BUT WE WILL NOTSUBJECT OUR FAMILIES TO BE BEATEN AND ROBBED AT GUN POINT,SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE COMING FROM USA…..MEANS WE ARE RICH.THE SECURITY OF THE TOURIST AND FELLOW GUYANESE BROTHERS AND SISTERS MUST BE ENSURED……..WE WANT TO COME HOME AND FEEL SAFE…..IT IS A TRUE SAYING THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME…………….GET IT TOGETHER AND WE WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE THERE……..I AM PRAYING FOR OUR COUNTRY ..THAT THE BANNER OFRIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE BE LIFTED HIGH ACROSS OUR LAND.
I agree with Ms Paul on the all time low of the local tourism industry.
The main areas in tourism as follows
Transportation — mainly air
Accommodation & entertainment
Security
This currently ministry of tourism lack the knowledge of all of the above.
Just to show you how backward they are for claiming first quarter of 2008 higher in visitors than first quarter of 2007.
Let these people provide the public to validate thier claim and stop fooling people around.
HEAD don’t know FOOT will tangle.
It seems that the municipality in the city is not functioning properly. If the mayoral position requires an electoral process, I suggest that elections be held immediately. The city is an eye sore with garbage, stray animals, bush, mosquitos, and derelic vehicles. These conditions breed crime, health hazards, low or no tourism, and no investment oppertunities.
Charriot I totally agree with everything that you said in your blog. Because taking friends from here to visit my country is not a great idea for me, my ex-husband was borm here and I took him to my country, he said he liked it and behind my back he told my friend who is also from Guyana that he hated that country and would never go back there any more. I myself is upset about the situation in Guyana and I cannot see where they made any improvement. The one thing that I can and will always say about my country of birth is the ” Hospitality is Excellent ”
and ” Yes ” I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Guyanese people are very Hospitable and we leave ourselves with out to entertain friends and family.
Ms. Paul let them make some changes and have all the things that Charriot mentioned in place and you will see how your industry will grow, another thing is I would like to visit some of the tourist areas that they have in Guyana but by Jesus it is too expensive, I can go to another country or island for the price that they are charging for some of those trips. Guyana is not a luxurous place where you have all the little things that you need to feel at home so why would people want to pay that kind of money, for having to be bitten by mosquitos, being robbed
and other different things.
Ms Paul is correct. Tourism is for another country. Guyana has learnt nothing since independence. Most of the visitors to Guyana are Guyanese who live outside of Guyana. Guyana must learn to keep Georgetown clean, clean of garbage and banditry.