Businesses must work together to capture tourists’ attention – Walrond

…says visitor arrivals expected to remain high for rest of 2024

The Tourism Industry and Commerce Minister, Oneidge Walrond, during an engagement with representatives from various stakeholders in the tourism industry at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre highlighted that visitor arrivals are expected to remain high throughout the year.
Delivering remarks at the engagement on Tuesday with stakeholders in the tourism industry Walrond said that the number of visitors entering the country will remain stable throughout the year.
In this regard, she underscored that the Government has been developing strategies in order to boost visitors’ arrivals in low-travelled months as such the minster encouraged operators and industry stakeholders to always be prepared for visitors.

“So we no longer have travel seasons you know with the tour operators and the tour guides every single month is an opportunity, there is no longer that this is our low season. we are aiming and that has been the specific strategy of Government for the tourism sector the we have visitors coming in. That’s why we have the Oil Energy Conference in February that brings in the visitors, the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) is going to be in July. We had the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) conference and so all of those conferences sporting events is a strategic policy of Government to be able to have every single month an increase and a busy month for the tourism” the minister sated.
Additionally, the Minister called for greater participation among stakeholders in the sector, underscoring that it is important for new visitors coming to the country to have easy access to a list of tours and other activities offered in the country.
“We all can work together to make sure that we capture the attention of these visitors. Those people should be able to have easy access or information about tours, those who want to do a one-day tour two-day tour. So having that integration with the hotels the taxi drivers for us all to know what each other is doing in the sector” the minister posited.
Moreover, she also emphasised the importance of having excellent customer service emphasising the importance of travelers having a pleasant experience throughout their stay. Waldron highlighted that they have been working on improving human interaction with visitors.
” One of the major things for those of you who own restaurants and bars and the hotels is the service having our visitors have a positive experience when it comes to service. even from the Airport experience at immigration and getting into a taxi getting to the hotel we have been working on improving that human interaction that we have with our visitors” the minster stated.
Meanwhile Guyana had seen an increase in the number of visitors entering the country in 2023, when compared to what had obtained in previous years. According to the Guyana Statistical Digest, in 2023, Guyana experienced an 11 per cent increase in visitors entering the country when compared to the previous year. Last year the country welcomed a total of 319,147 tourists through various ports. However, it has been noted that the majority of those visitors were not from Guyana’s diaspora group.
Notably, only 45% (144,307) of those arrivals were diaspora visitors, while 55% (174,840) were from its non-diaspora group.
The statistical report highlighted that most of the non-Guyanese visitors had travelled from the United States and the Caribbean, with 44,704 and 71,305 visitors respectfully. The report also highlighted that the average expenditure per international traveller in 2023 was estimated to be around $222,000. According to the WTTC Economic Impact Report (Guyana) 2023, the tourism industry in Guyana supported over 18,000 jobs, highlighting its crucial role in the nation’s economy. the total number of visitors entering the country this year is expected to grow by nine per cent, with an estimated total of 350,000 persons entering the country. Arrivals are expected to increase for following events/ activities: Guyana/Cricket Carnival, Caribbean Premiere League 2024 (CPL), and other sporting events.
Further, the country can expect additional visitors due to the continued oil production, increased marketing and expanded product development, and major conferences.