Just how lucrative the returns can be for Caribbean countries from the tourism industry can be measured through the fortunes of Jamaica’s Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). Jamaica dwells in a geographic space that renders the country much more accessible to the heavy seasonal drift of North American tourists to the region but then it has to be acknowledged as well that both the public and private sectors in Jamaica have, over the years, worked pretty hard and spent billions of dollars creating a worthwhile tourism infrastructure and simultaneously marketing the brand just about everywhere.
Here in Guyana, the rising global popularity of eco-tourism renders our own product as potentially competitive as any in the world today. Up until now however, we have not sought to emulate Jamaica in investing in product development and product promotion. Rather, we have been, over the years, rather more glib in ‘mouthing off’ about our tourism potential whilst, over time, turning a blind eye to environmental despoilers who have been steadily eroding the value of our tourism product.
