Stabroek News
August 7, 2001

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir, has set up an eight-member Ministerial Advisory Committee on Tourism (MACT) to serve for a one-year term to advise him on matters pertaining to tourism.

The MACT, which is headed by Young Professional in Protected Areas Management at Iwokrama and part time lecturer at the University of Guyana, Shyam Nokta, will also, on request by the minister, liaise and work with national and international institutions for the development of the country's tourism sector.

Special Projects Officer Donna Short-Gill of the Tourism Ministry is the secretary to the advisory committee.

The MACT is expected to assist the minister and ministry in the identification, planning and coordinating of activities for tourism development. As part of its responsibility MACT will work in collaboration with the ministry to engage key stakeholder groups in the development of the sector. The members will also participate in meetings and discussions at fora pertaining to the development of tourism locally.

In brief remarks to the media at the inaugural meeting of MACT members and the minister in his office on South Road yesterday morning, Nadir said that MACT brings together a diverse and well-experienced group of individuals who have been involved in the planning and development of tourism in the country over the years.

The members of the committee have all been appointed to serve in their individual capacities and not as representatives of organisations. They are: President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and Managing Director of Roraima Airways, Gerry Gouveia; tourism activist and Coordinator of the Tourism Division of the University of Guyana, Donald Sinclair; Director of Tourism in the Tourism Ministry, Tessa Fraser; former executive director of THAG and Young Professional in Eco-Tourism with Iwokrama, Colette McDermott; Managing Director of Wonderland Tours, Richard Ousman and communications and tourism consultant Sandra Baptiste. The participation of anthropologist and former chief of the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples, Hubert Wong, who is currently out of the country, is yet to be confirmed.

Nokta had recently held the position as chairman of the Task Force, which came about from the first in a series of workshops for tour operators and stakeholders in the public and private sectors, sponsored by the Caribbean Regional Human Resource Development Training Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC). The Task Force had produced a tourism policy document titled `Realising Guyana's Tourism Potential - a policy Framework for Developing Guyana's Potential,' which had recommended the establishment of a ministerial advisory committee on tourism. The members of the task Force had indicated their willingness to serve in an advisory capacity.

In brief remarks Nadir said that members of the MACT will work with small groups outside the city.

He said that the immediate and major task of the committee will be to review with him the draft legislation for the establishment of the tourism authority. The draft, he said, has been completed after going through the various rounds of consultation but it will need fine tuning to ensure a smooth passage through parliament.

Noting that there is a limited period to the end of the year, he said that other activities will involve improving basic facilities at the Kaieteur National Park, planning for Tourism Awareness Month in November as well as for next year which has been designated International Year for Eco-Tourism.