Guyana's tourism efforts are paying off
By Mondale Smith
Dominican Today
February 24, 2007
Georgetown.– Various efforts by the Administration to project Guyana as a viable tourist destination are paying off and for 2007 many aspects are being pushed to propel the sector even as Guyana prepares to host several major international events.
Development in the industry will continue within the context set by the National Development Strategy, and a major player in this expansion is the five-year tourism plan.
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad said the tourism sector recorded significant growth in 2006 with arrivals during the Christmas season surpassing those of previous years.
According to statistics provided by the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation, there were close to 200,000 visitors last year. The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) reported that 113, 476 tourists visited in 2006 as compared to 116, 596 in 2005. The decline which occurred during the July- August period was due understandably to the holding of National and Regional elections.
Visitors from the United States accounted for 50% of the total, while those from the Caribbean formed 25%, followed by Canada with 13 %. Guyana recorded 121, 989 tourist arrivals in 2004, the highest figure ever.
Last March, the Tourism Ministry launched its three-year birding tourism plan, building capacity for the provision of services for bird watching, an activity that is gradually becoming popular. Guyana has over 800 species of birds, with 25 percent of them found in the City alone.
Another interest area that Government is hoping to propel is yachting and already there has been collaboration with the private sector and systems have been worked out to make entry into Guyana easy, as it relates to Customs and Immigration.
The national Budget has allocated $65.6M to the GTA to further promote Guyana as a unique tourist destination. The five-year tourism plan which has been supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) focuses on strengthening the GTA, expanding tourism education and training at the university level, implementing tourism regulations to improve standards and competitiveness, catalysing tourism development in the areas of agro-tourism, sports and events tourism, and nature-based tourism, including yacht and cruise ship tourism with the addition of new facilities.