THERE have been firm and steady steps towards making tourism a major plank of the local economy and the focus continues during this Tourism Awareness Month.

Establishing the long-awaited Tourism Authority is among priority matters Cabinet has set for Parliament.

Main players in the industry have long been pushing for the body to be set up as the central authority for the development of tourism.

According to President Bharrat Jagdeo, the Tourism Authority legislation will be centred on setting up an authority that will help manage the affairs of the tourism sector.

It will also create standards and regulations which could lead to the long-term development of the sector, he said earlier this month.

While the sector and others await the unveiling of the legislation, an announcement of quite some significance for the sector has emerged.

Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, Mr. Hydar Ally reported this week that the ministry is introducing Tourism Studies into the schools curriculum.

"...we believe we have to develop at an early age, what I would describe as a culture of tourism", he said.

He talked about an inter-agency approach with the Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Education and other ministries working together to sustain the programme to ensure it has the desired effect.

If a "culture of tourism" is to take root here, it has to start with the young people, especially school children who could be encouraged to consider tourism among career choices which have traditionally been in professions like medicine, law, engineering and teaching.

Tourism as a career choice is well established in Caribbean and other countries where the sector has long been developed and although the product here is different in many respects to the offering in those places, Guyana can tap into their experiences and programmes for curriculum development.

Tourism is the fastest growing sector in the world and could hold its own despite the travails from the fallout of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Professor Norman Girvan has said that a coordinated approach to the region's tourism could build on sub-regional initiatives already taken by the Caribbean Community and Central America respectively to launch joint promotional campaigns in response to September 11.

He noted that competition within the region is natural and will continue but added that this can be supplemented by a recognition of the mutual benefits to be had from wider regional cooperation in response to the current crisis.

There is therefore reason enough to continue the emphasis on developing Guyana's tourism product which is among those that could be marketed to the sophisticated traveller.

And plugging it among the young in schools as a real career choice is a timely and eminently sensible approach.

This would add to the pool that the tourism studies unit at the University of Guyana and tourism operators could tap into.

Above all, it is a fine start to building a culture of tourism.