Guyana's catch-up strategy in tourism
THERE was a time in the Burnham administration when tourism, television and `screwdriver' industries, so readily embraced by Caribbean territories were considered anathema to Guyana's development. In those days of the 1970s, when the guiding philosophy was socialism with its idealised objectives the banishment of capitalist exploitation, the withering away of the state and the ultimate liberation of man, the leading thinkers all agreed that tourism would encourage the proliferation of such undesirable industries as prostitution and gambling. The then Prime Minister Forbes Burnham was reported as declaring that he did not want Guyana to be a nation of waiters and maids. And quite a few Guyanese who had cause to spend time in the leading tourist havens such as Barbados and Jamaica were wont to agree. The image of the perpetually smiling-at-the-tourists, servile hotel workers was not one with which proud Guyanese felt comfortable. Another thing, farmers in Jamaica were constantly flabbergasted at the huge quantity of food imported for the tourists' consumption, and the farmers quite justifiably lamented the fact that the hotels were purchasing so little of the local produce. The rationale by the tourism authorities was that the average North American tourist wanted to eat steak and potatoes and hamburgers even if he was in the middle of the jungle. Consequently, there was little hope for the promotion of local cuisine. The consensus against the promotion of tourism as we knew it was that very little of the tourist dollar remained in the Caribbean islands, and that a hefty portion of it went back to the industrialised countries which organised the package tours in the first place. However, over the last two decades, the economic realities have changed dramatically. Islands such as Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and several of the smaller territories have tourism as one of their front-line industries. Over the years, those countries have complemented the natural scenic beauty of their islands with physical infrastructure to offer recreation and cosseted hospitality to the jaded metropolitan executive. Jamaica, which established tourism training schools decades ago, has a tourist industry that sees thousands of visitors from all parts of the globe. Add to that the cultural attractions of Jamaican music, its vibrant theatre, the excellent National Dance Theatre Company directed by the legendary Rex Nettleford, its roadside jerk-meats, its breathtaking beaches and the sophisticated hospitality of its hotels such as Sandals, and one could immediately appreciate the complex and interlocking factors that propel that country's tourism ethos. On the tiny rock of Barbados, sometimes described as a paradise on earth, tourism's success has fuelled development in other sectors of the economy and for several years the Barbados dollar has been so consistently strong that a visitor could purchase an item with American dollars and collect his change in the same currency. Cuba, whose economy was under siege for decades because of a United States embargo, is doing so well as a tourist destination that in recent years tourism is reported to have generated 300 000 jobs. Better still, the authorities in Havana have projected that by the year 2010, Cuba would have recorded seven million tourists with corresponding revenue being in the vicinity of US120 billion! Guyana has a long way to go to get anywhere near her neighbours in the tourism industry.
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