Tax incentives, ‘feel good’ media stories needed to complement tourism policy

Tourism Minister Cathy Hughes told the National Assembly during the second sitting of the 11th Parliament that the tourism sector is undergoing policy and other changes to fully capitalise on Guyana’s potential as an unspoilt South American destination.

The tourism sector is expected to be a huge foreign exchange earner for Guyana as its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been valued at between US$64M to $220M annually or up to 8.8%. Hughes recalled too that the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2013 reported that the direct effects of traveller tourism locally amounted to some $16 billion or US$87.9M