Guyana not under siege
- Nadir
Stabroek News
September 19, 2002
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir has said that Guyana was not under siege on account of the recent increase in the crime rate.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Nadir on its weekly television programme `Answers’, as saying that the crime rate has had some effect on the local tourism industry but assured that the government was making every effort towards addressing the problem.
There have been some killings, which have caused a lot of concern, he said, but “Guyana is still a safe place to be.”
Looking at weekend entertainment, Nadir said there was a good turn out and “people don’t look over their backs.”
Visitor arrivals, he said, have been going well and at the end of August, arrivals were 18% higher than the corresponding period last year.
And for the first eight months of this year, 76,000 arrivals were recorded, comparing favourably with last year’s figures for the same period.
However, he said, there has been some decrease in this figure. For the first quarter of this year, the industry did 25% better than last year but this has now dropped to 18%.
Instead of the projected 30,000 arrivals during July and August, some 25,000 arrivals were recorded. Nadir noted also that there were some cancellations of bookings on flights coming into Guyana.
Visitors to Kaieteur Falls increased by more than 100% when compared to 2001, and those arrivals were the best ever, he said.
He complimented the organisers of the school reunions at Bishops’ and Tutorial held in July and August which attracted a number of overseas-based Guyanese whom he described as the “sales people” for Guyana, GINA said.
Meanwhile, in an effort to continue promoting Guyana’s tourism the ministry has entered into an agreement with North American Airlines to air an in-flight commercial on activities during the Main Big Lime and Emancipation Day in August. Guyana is also featured in a Caribbean advertising campaign in the USA.