By Miranda La Rose
It is essential to revise the "bureaucratic" incentive package and enunciate a policy on the role of tourism in the country's economy, its human resource development and services, a Tourism Task Force has urged.
Stabroek News
July 6, 2001
There is also a pressing need for an investment code that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of the government and the private sector in the local hospitality and tourism sector.
The Tourism Task Force, which comprises public and private sector officials, was formed after the first in a series of workshops for operators in the local hospitality and tourism sector sponsored by the Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC).
Its recommendations were made on the basis of the National Development Strategy (NDS) and the Tourism Policy Document prepared by the University of Guyana Division of Caribbean Studies Consultancy, and it has been handed over to the government for consideration.
In relation to the incentive package currently in place, the Task Force has noted that accessing it has proved frustrating to tour and hospitality operators because of bureaucratic delays which have caused many investors to opt out of it. The incentive package is basically customs duty concessions on a shortlist of items. To access the incentive package a number of criteria must be met, among which is an environmental permit and evidence of lease or title to land.
The reality, the Task Force said, is that many investors have expressed frustration with the processing time at the Environmental Protection Agency, Lands and Surveys Department and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Tourism and Industry.
Whilst some have benefited without the environmental permit, others have received concessions on items that are not being used directly for tourism purposes, the Task Force said.
The incentive package is granted at the discretion of the minister and he determines what items are to be included on the list. In addition, the value of the concession, which is granted every five years, has to be within a percentage of the investment.
To cut out bureaucratic delays in accessing the incentive package, the Task Force has recommended a fast-track mechanism, which at the same time allows for checks and balances in the system. One way of doing this, the Task Force suggests, is to have officers assigned to tourism projects within the EPA, Lands and Surveys Department, the Tourism Division and the Ministry of Finance.
The Task Force feels that the environmental impact assessment requirements should be revised for certain categories of projects. This can be done without the need for legislative amendment, using more discretion by the EPA after careful consideration and recommendation of the project by the Tourism Division.
Too often, the Task Force said, the bottleneck in the process lies with the EPA where a permit for a tourism project can take from nine months to two years, but it should take no more than three to six months.
The Task Force feels that the items that are eligible for concessions under the incentive scheme should not be general for all tourism projects, and should only be given when there is an established need.
Some operators, the Task Force said, "have received concessions on 4 X 4 vehicles when in fact the tour operations they run require air and river travel."
The Task Force suggests that there be follow-up and monitoring of projects to ensure not only compliance with the conditions set out in the environmental permit but also proper use of the incentive package. It also recommends that there should be a clause within the package that prohibits the sale of large items procured under the incentive package until three years have elapsed.
The Task Force has also noted that in the NDS there is "no specific strategy" to deal with the role of tourism in the national economy but a broad policy statement is summarily addressed through individual strategies.
The role ..., it says, should be to develop tourism as a major industry that provides the greatest socio-economic benefit for local communities and to the national economy through foreign exchange earnings, tax revenue and employment.