Tourism sector should never be subjected to “political manoeuvring” – President Ali

…agitated over cancellation of GuyExpo, Building Expo, Guyana Festival

As Guyana seeks to build world-class tourism products, President Dr Irfaan Ali contends that the tourism industry should not be subjected to political manoeuvring as he recalls the many thriving initiatives that were discontinued under the previous Administration.
Speaking at the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday evening, President Ali posited that tourism was one of the sectors that have nothing to do with politics.

“The greatest mistake one can make is try to politicise the tourism sector,” he opined.
According to the Head of State, tourism transcends boundaries and cultures. Hence, he called on stakeholders to ensure that their efforts were not politicised.
“I went through some period of agitation because in my brief stint in the Ministry of Tourism [in the previous PPP/C], we tried to create some products that I think are critical. I want all of us in this room to commit that whatever we develop in this sector, whatever products we are branding in this sector, that they are never subject to political manoeuvring,” he urged.
The President outlined that marketing Guyana as a tourism destination should unleash a sense of pride and patriotism from all Guyanese.
Pointing out that every major tourism-based country around the world has a national festival, the President recalls major events such as the ‘Guyana Festival’ and other exhibitions that attracted thousands of attendees not only from within the country but beyond.
“In three nights and three days, we had more than 173,000 persons walking through the National Stadium. We had special flights branded for the Guyana Festival. After investing so much time and effort and money, where is that product?… We started the Rupununi Music Festival. Again, a lot of effort, time and commitment went into the developing of that product. Where is that product today? A lot can be said about GuyExpo itself. But GUYEXPO as a product was unleashing the potential of Guyana and trust me, a lot of Guyanese came back during GuyExpo. Ask the guys in the entertainment industry about the spending during that period. Where is GuyExpo? Building Expo – completely financed by the Private Sector. In five nights, more than 400,000 Guyanese passed through Building Expo, not Guyanese here alone,” the Guyanese leader stated.
According to President Ali, all of these major events were taking off at a time when Guyana was not even known yet for its oil and gas reserves, which were first discovered in commercial quantities in mid-2015.
“People were coming for GuyExpo, Building Expo, Guyana Festival. There was nothing political about any of these events. They were developed with the strong advocacy of you – the people who work day and night in this sector,” he asserted.
To this end, the Guyanese leader contended that there must be fundamental principles established for the tourism sector that whenever a product is created, it is done in the interest of improving and promoting Guyana’s budding tourism industry and not for any political party – whether ruling or not.
“Whenever the democratic will of the people comes into play and you have new vision, it is ok to add to the product. Just, for God’s sake, do not destroy the product. Add as much, broaden as much, strengthen as much – do that! That is within your mandate. We are forever going to be in a cycle like this if we don’t understand this,” he stressed.
President Ali further stated that his Government’s vision for tourism is to be the number eco-destination in this part of the region, second to none. But he noted that in order for this to happen, there needed to be a collective unleashing of resources among stakeholders – both private and public.
The Head of State reiterated that his administration was committed to support such initiatives that would result in sustainable development of the industry.
He pointed out that Guyana was currently benefiting from a unique advantage that the oil and gas sector brought – visibility on the international stage. He said this extraordinary level of visibility that the oil and gas sector brought would be used to make every single sector in Guyana competitive, including tourism. (G8)