Protection of sites among plans to improve tourism--President
By Miranda La Rose
The establishment of a National Tourism Board and the protection of a number of tourist sites, are among programmes government will undertake to support the industry, President Janet Jagan said. Government will also be addressing the problem of air transport in and out of Guyana this year, she stated. Delivering the main address at the opening of the Tourism Association of Guyana's (TAG) seventh annual general meeting, at Hotel Tower on Friday afternoon, Mrs Jagan outlined a number of initiatives government was embarking on which wwould support the industry. She said that she intended to make government as responsive as possible to the tourism industry and its major players, to ensure that the industry played its role in the country's economic development. Mrs Jagan also said that she recently established a mechanism where all potential tourist sites in the country would be identified and adequately protected. In recent times, TAG had been calling for the protection, by legislation, of large tracts of land in the country's interior. The President said she did not have the specifics of what the regulations would entail, but indicated that the emphasis would be on protection. She further stated that tourist sites with emphasis on eco-tourism, would not be leased for forestry or mining activities, but would either be further developed for tourism, research or left as they were. Noting the importance and the need for a national tourism board, Mrs Jagan said that a board would be established in another few months. One of the responsibilities of the board, she said, would be to adequately market the country's tourism products in North America and Europe and other parts of the world. Commenting on services and infrastructure, Mrs Jagan said that government was working towards improving services in a number of areas such as education and the development of roads which would impact positively on the tourism industry. She noted that government had taken a number of measures to improve the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri and expressed the hope that the national tourism board would be properly accommodated at the airport facilities. She said that in spite of the problems facing the Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC), government had tasked a team to work out possible alternatives for air service to the hinterland communities. These would be announced shortly, she said, adding that suggestions and recommendations solicited from the private sector in servicing the interior were being seriously considered. Government was aware of the problems of airlift in and out of Guyana, too, she said, and this would be engaging the government's attention this year. "This problem must be solved if tourism is to take its rightful place in Guyana and contribute to economic development," she said. Stating that a major project this year would be the upgrading of the Ogle Airstrip to a modern municipal airport, she said that at the next Cabinet meeting, ministers would be fully apprised of the benefits and possibilities of developing the Ogle Airstrip. In response to TAG President Richard Humphrey's plea for government and tour operators to work in partnership to ensure the viability of the industry, Mrs Jagan said, "there is need for positive action on the part of the private sector and the government, to put the tourism sector on firm footing," to further diversify "our narrowly-based economy". Also addressing members of TAG and invitees at the opening session, were Humphrey and TAG Executive Director Colette McDermott. Humphrey also presented a plaque to Demerara Distillers Ltd, which was represented by its Special Projects Officer Neil Isaacs, for being the first corporate sponsor to assist TAG substantially. Noting that visitors to Guyana had declined dramatically over the past four years, Humphrey said that even though the number of genuine visitors for last year was just about 2,000, that number represented a genuine increase in recent years. He expressed the hope that there would be no recurrence of the disturbances which followed the December 15 general elections last year. He said this could put tour operators completely out of business. In welcome remarks, McDermott said that eco-tourism, which Guyana was currently promoting, represented 20 per cent of global tourism revenues. Stating that the eco-tourism product was shrinking, she said that "there are more people vying for the opportunity to have the type of experience that only a small number of countries including Guyana, will be able to offer." Guyana, she said, had been recognised as having a superior eco-tourism product and was recently awarded for being the `Best Eco-Region'. 
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