Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill on Friday announced that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri had processed 729,680 passengers for the year 2023 which reflects an increase of 11 per cent when compared to 657, 249 passengers in 2022.
The minister made this disclosure during a year-end press briefing at the Public Works Ministry’s offices in Wight’s Lane, Kingston, Georgetown.
Edghill relying on reports from CJIA said that there has been an increase in air travel to Guyana over the past two years. These travel increments, he explained, reflect the transformational impact of his government’s programmes and policies in positioning Guyana as the beacon of tourism.
“The government’s heavy investments into developing the country’s infrastructure and services, coupled with the continued growth of the oil and gas sector have seen a massive influx of investors, and government is working towards achieving one million passenger arrivals by 2025.
“We’re seeing growth, and we are looking forward to the million mark very soon, and that will come as a result of us boosting our tourism potential, and us continuing to use Guyana as a hub to connect the Caribbean and South America,” reporters heard.
Additionally, over 11 million tonnes of cargo have been processed at the airport this year, representing a 25 per cent increase from last year’s figure. Cargo imports increased by 25 per cent, while exports saw a 45 per cent increase.
“This is as a direct result of shipment of agro-industrial supplies. The government’s agricultural plan is making its impact even in the export sector.”
To date, there have been 4,316 landings managed at the airport, owing to the addition of new airlines.
The Public Works Minister back in November of this year reported that passenger movements to and from Guyana saw a 77.9% growth for the year 2022, moving from 399,483 in 2021, and to 710,563 in 2022.
He had disclosed these statistics during the National Aviation Safety Seminar facilitated by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority at the Pegasus Hotel. The minister said that utilisation of international air freight services also grew by approximately 4.7% in 2022.
“We must all acknowledge the fact that aviation is growing exponentially, there is growth in freight traffic whereas, in 2022, international freight recorded 4.7%, that is 9,797 metric tons as compared to 9,354 metric tons in 2021”, Edghill said. According to Edghill, for the Eugene F Correia International Airport, the total international passenger traffic grew by 82% in 2022 recording 53,315 passengers as compared to 29,290 in 2021. He noted that the CJIA witnessed a passenger traffic increase of 77.5% in 2022 recording 657,249 passengers as compared to 370,187 in 2021.
Referring to the Ministry of Finance’s 2023 Mid-Year report, Edghill highlighted that in the first six months of 2023, Guyana welcomed 149,020 visitors, an increase of 16.2 per cent when compared with the same period last year.
The highest number of arrivals was recorded in March and April. These peaks were attributed to an increase in travel from the business sector as well as returning Guyanese for the Easter holidays. Of the visitors recorded over this period, those from the United States and the Caribbean accounted for the largest shares, 47 and 26 per cent respectively. With events such as the Cricket Carnival, International Building Expo, Agri Expo, and GuyExpo which took place recently, it is anticipated that visitor arrivals will surpass the previous record of 314,727 visitors observed in 2019.
