Newly-appointed Minister of Business Haimraj Rajkumar, who has responsibility for tourism, was on Friday evening welcomed by stakeholders in the tourism industry at a cocktail reception, where he noted that significant input is needed to lift the standard of Guyana’s tourism product.
At the reception, hosted at Cara Lodge in Georgetown by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), President of the association Mitra Ramkumar welcomed the newly appointed minister. Ramkumar said Guyana’s place as the number one eco-tourism destination can be attributed to the work that was done by former Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin. “I must credit this to the former minister, Dominic Gaskin, who has listened to the private sector and has created an enabling environment,” he told the gathering.
According to Ramkumar, the association was the first private sector organisation to meet with the Ministry of Finance during the 2019 budget consultations. He said that as a result of that, the establishment of the Hospitality Institute came about. “I can point you to one accomplishment we would have had— that is the establishment of the Hospitality Institute. It’s going to be done through the Ministry of Education and funded by the Caribbean Development Bank. The government has allocated two and a half acres of land and have signed the contract for the design phase and it’s going to mimic the operation of a four star hotel,” Ramkumar said.
He went on to say that the association will continue to lobby for tourism to be recognised as an export industry and will continue to appeal for the industry to be granted the same concessions as any other export industry.
Rajkumar expressed his gratitude to THAG for organising the event, where he was able to meet with prominent stakeholders in the tourism industry. Rajkumar, in his address to the gathering, stated that he delights in the responsibility for the growth and development of Guyana’s tourism sector, and that while he appreciates the significant amount of work done by his predecessors, he is not satisfied with the current stage. “The responsibility of the growth and development of Guyana tourism is something that I relish and I attach great importance to. I … appreciate the significant amount of work that was placed in my predecessor Mr. Gaskin and his predecessors in their undertaking to bringing a significant development of tourism in our beautiful country, but I’m not satisfied at the stage where it is. I’m certain with significant input, significant cooperation and significant coming together of all the stakeholders in this sector, we can indeed lift the standard of our product that we offer the world at large,” Rajkumar said.
“My vision is to ensure that Guyana is a place that is safe, that visitors can come to our country, feel free to be part of our society without any fear of being harmed,” the minister added. He said that while many persons who would want to come to Guyana are fearful, he believes that the general public also has a role to play in terms of marketing Guyana. “We must be positive when we are marketing our country, we must be careful of the things that we place on social media so that we won’t have a negative impact to our country and the potential of our tourism industry,” Rajkumar stated.
Rajkumar told the gathering that Guyana has something different to offer compared to other countries that are branded as tourist destinations. “We have something different, we have an opportunity to create a different package, a different product, so that even though it’s different we must be able to package it in such a manner that it becomes desirable,” Rajkumar said. He added that as long as there is cooperation, Guyana’s tourism industry can be built and the country can be seen as a sustainable destination.
