with Guyana just a few days away from observing one of its most monumental events, the Public Telecommunications and Tourism Ministry has recorded a high tourist influx to Guyana, the result of which has hotels across the country filled to capacity, leading to more persons opening their homes as part of the “Bed and Breakfast” initiative.
This was confirmed by Tourism Minister Cathy Hughes, who told Guyana Times on Friday that the feedback has been “tremendous” in terms of tourists and the Diaspora showing their interest in being a part of the grand celebrations.
The Minister additionally reported that the support from the Guyanese population has been outstanding as more persons are indicating their interest in opening their homes to house the tourists.
Hughes related that only on Thursday, 60 persons had turned out at the Ministry to enlist their names and undergo training to be part of the “bed and breakfast” initiative which is being implemented to facilitate the large turnout expected from the Diaspora.
These training sessions, according to the Minister, provides a comprehensive approach to how these persons can house their guests, and what is expected of them. “The people are excited to get on board with the initiative and they are ready to go,” she noted.
Since rooms are booked at the hotels, Hughes announced that persons visiting from the Diaspora or those in Guyana, who are looking for a city hotel, need to first make contact with the Ministry so that they could assist in locating places for them.
She said that once contacted, the Ministry may be able to assign a place under the “Bread and Breakfast” initiative where the guests can stay for the period of time leading up to the anniversary, and after.
According to the information received, frequent inspections of the premises earmarked to house the impending guests are carried out by the members of the initiative’s committee.
The Tourism Minister outlined that restaurants across the city have recorded a significant improvement in their businesses as the demand for fast food is escalating with the increased number of visitors from the Diaspora.
Smaller restaurants, however, have reported that their businesses remain the same since many are not aware of the locations, and prefer the larger food outlets, Hughes said.
Nonetheless, it has been reported that there is an overall improvement to the tourism sector in Guyana, as the long list of activities are attracting a large number of tourists from countries across the world.
Even before most of the activities had been hosted, the number of tourist arrivals had been on the rise, as airlines had recorded a boost to their services.
Hughes said that as early as March, hotels and airlines were all booked up as persons, on hearing of the events, rushed to purchase tickets and make reservations.
The Tourism Ministry, prior to the lead up to the 50th anniversary celebrations, had expressed optimism about the positive responses they would receive as the country celebrates its independence.
Over the past months, a number of events have been planned to mark the Golden Jubilee Anniversary.
Most persons, however, are anticipating the Jubilee Float Parade set for May 26, which will pattern of the Republic Day float parade.
