A triumph of entrepreneurship
Editorial
The transformation of the Mainstay resort by a group of local businessmen is nothing short of a triumph of the entrepreneurial spirit that resides in the local business community. Having lain barren for numerous years, one of the many misadventures of the Burnham years, five businessmen took up the challenge in 1996 of converting the desolation into a splendid vista of hope and great potential. Despite many obstacles Wilfred Jagnarine, Mokesh Daby, Roy and Ronald Bassoo and Basil Dyal persevered and $300M later have created a breathtaking resort with classy facilities that can become an important part of the tourism sector. These businessmen must be congratulated. Often the lamentation is heard that Guyanese businessmen are not investing cold, hard capital in productive projects with foreign currency earning potential, opting instead for the trading sector. Here is a case where in the face of great uncertainty, refusals from the local banking sector and inadequate assistance by the government to the tourism industry the five businessmen ploughed their own money into the venture with the determination to make it a success. This is the spirit that must be promoted, nurtured and rewarded not only by the government but the people of the country as a whole. The hard work really starts now. The resort now has to attract an occupancy level sufficient to retrieve its investment, provide a return on the investment and cover the high maintenance costs that are likely. This is where the support of the government and the country can make a difference. Mainstay will join a line of quality resorts in this country that are trying to compete with what the rest of the Caribbean offers. Internal tourism is undeveloped and could be a gold mine for the local resorts with the construction of a suitable plan by the local operators. Cost is certainly a factor and special rates for local tourists as is done in other parts of the Caribbean could be offered. Not only will it help Guyanese to see more of their country but it would also bring in some revenue from rooms that would otherwise remain empty. Couldn't Mainstay and the other resorts get together and set aside a fraction of their unutilised rooms for local tourists? Aggressive marketing of day tours - without the high accommodation costs - could also yield benefits. The returns from local tourism will, however, not suffice and the main markets for resorts like Mainstay will continue to be the foreign tourists who are prepared to pay for upscale lodging and facilities. This is where the government has to provide financial and other support. The tourism sector cannot be seen by the government as a mere conclave of private sector entrepreneurs out to make a profit. It must also be seen as an opportunity for attracting large numbers of tourists who will not only fill up the rooms of these resorts but spread their money around the country and provide an important source of foreign exchange earnings and revenue to the state. The key issue is then one of marketing and the towering costs associated with an advertising campaign. Collectively local operators must contribute to this but they will be unable to do it on their own. Cut-throat competition in the Caribbean requires that the government pitches in as a partner to whom direct benefits will also accrue. One of the key drawbacks to Mainstay, particularly for local tourists, will be access. Air transport is quite prohibitive and travel by road exhausting. Mainstay has appealed to the government to improve the main road in the area and this is one of the many special responsibilities the government must take on to enliven the prospects for local entrepreneurs. Mainstay is today a beacon for what can be achieved by committed and dedicated businessmen and the government must help in every way it can to ensure that this and other such projects thrive.
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