GTA seeking to enhance customer service for Upper Corentyne businesses

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is seeking to improve customer service at businesses operating along the upper Corentyne.
This is as the agency seeks to lift the quality of service being offered to customers by various providers who encounter visitors; local or foreign.
The GTA on Thursday in Skeldon Corentyne, rolled out its training programme to enhance customer service standards.
One of the areas of focus is the Upper Corentyne inclusive of the town of Corriverton which borders Suriname.
Training and Tourism Development Officer of GTA, Chetnauth Persaud said the overall aim is to enhance the quality of service being offered throughout the entire region.
“This is one of the first set of training in Corriverton, we wanted to do this one first. It has to do with tourism; introduction to tourism and customer service. We also discussed cultural differences. We are doing this as an introduction programme so that we can feel the need for what is happening in the Corriverton area because we want to know what are the next programmes that we should bring,” he explained.
Over 25 persons participated in the sessions which were held at City Inn Hotel in Corriverton.

The customer service training programme provided information on visitors’ trends and also provided statistics enabling providers to make informed choices.
“We covered tourism; types of tourism, what is happening in the tourism industry in terms of state. So, we compared stats from 1996, to 2022, and 2023, so that persons can get an understanding of visitor arrival to our country. We also talked about customer service; what is expected of the industry when it comes to customers and dealing with customers that are coming into Guyana, we also talked about the cultural mix that is happening in our country, whether it is persons that are coming to live or new cultures that are coming into our country.”
Similar programmes have been implemented for providers in the New Amsterdam area.
Meanwhile, Persaud said the work of the GTA is positively impacting on the community.
The GTA, he said has seen a positive change in the way tour guides and operators operate.
“We see more and more people want to do things the right way and do it more professionally. We are seeing more businesses whether it be hotels, interior lodges, resorts or tour guides and operators want to be registered and become licensed by the Guyana Tourism Authority.”
According to the GTA training officer, Corriverton has been included because the same training need which was seen in New Amsterdam also exists on the Upper Corentyne.
He noted that in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) similar programmes are done in the Anna Regina area and also in the Pomeroon. As it relates to Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) the training is done centrally in the Bartica area, while in Region Ten (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Linden is the central area. (G4)