Tourism cannot be entirely left to private sector - Holder Adequate resources must be invested by govt By Miranda La Rose Stabroek News May 20, 2000 Guyana has proclaimed to the world that it is serious about taking its place among those Caribbean countries which offer a competitive tourism product by hosting the fourth annual Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) conference, CTO Secretary-General Jean Holder says. Addressing the almost 400 delegates and invitees at the opening of the four-day conference on Sustainable Tourism at the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel yesterday, Holder said that this event could be seen as the launching of Guyana's tourism industry. "Guyana needs tourism and Caribbean tourism needs Guyana," he said. Detailing a three-pronged tourism awareness plan, Holder said that one part of such a strategy would be convincing the Government of Guyana of the country's tourism prospects so that it will "beyond the Ministry of Tourism... demonstrate its commitment to the concept, by investing adequate human and financial resources in tourism development." Holder said this was necessary "if the... resources needed for investment in the tourism industry, at the public and private sector levels are to be mobilised." He said it was critical that government understood and established the regulatory framework within which tourism development best takes place. "It will not happen by itself, as is commonly thought, nor can its direction be left entirely to the private sector." The second strategy, he said, was to provide the populace with information to enable them to "share the vision of a tourism future for their country and make such adjustments as are necessary to deliver the highest level of service, consistent with maintaining their identity and their dignity." He stated that tourism could not prosper without the blessings of the population as the populace would not give unless it appeared that they could get some blessing in return from the industry. And thirdly, Holder said, information about Guyana's tourism resources must be effectively communicated by both public and private sector to the market place. The CTO official said that for Guyana this will not be an easy task. "Selling tourism as a development sector has not always been easy, even in countries rich in the traditional resources of sand and sea. He described the industry as an "invasive" one which needed quite a high level of physical and psychological adjustment. However, he noted that Guyana "has an unenviable reputation for the hospitality of its people." And with appropriate training, he said, Guyanese will adapt easily to this particular service industry. Holder said, "Tourism can bring the economic advantages of addressing the existing problems of high unemployment and scarce foreign resources." On the other hand, the Caribbean tourism offer will be all the richer with Guyana's varied natural resources and consumer preferences were now more clearly related to natural resources. Guyana, he said, also had the potential to supply enormous linkages within the region between tourism and its other economic sectors which had long been an aspiration of Caribbean tourism planners. Holder said that Guyana was also entering the tourism market at a time when countries involved in the industry were being forced to give meaning to their claims to be offering a sustainable tourism product. Environmental conditionalities were now a part of international aid and trade negotiations with implications for local policies. "Increased pressures on fragile natural and socio-cultural environments, especially in small states, brought about by exponential growth in international tourism flows, dramatically bring to our attention the need for planned development," he said. Local populations were no longer willing to pay any social, cultural or environmental price for tourism development. In general, he said, tourism was never an easy option. It always had to measure up to the highest standards of international competition and this will intensify as local and international forces "conspire to demand a product of high quality, at a reasonable price, which both excites and entertains." Holder publicly acknowledged the sustained efforts of former minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Michael Shree Chan, Director of Tourism Tessa Fraser and other private sector officials in Guyana who several years ago had proposed Guyana as a conference venue. Holder said that approval for the conference was given in spite of the various challenges which presented themselves "at a time when there was not, in general, a high level of confidence that Guyana, given its traditional economic orientation, could creditably host a tourism event."