The Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry on Monday officially launched Tourism Awareness Month themed: “Preparing for a new Frontier – Stimulating Innovation Within the Tourism Sector”.
Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond
The launching was held in Saint Cuthbert’s Mission at the Bimichi Eco Lodge, where officials underscored the need for innovative ideas to help the sector recover from the blows it suffered during the pandemic.
Delivering remarks at the launching, acting head of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Kamrul Baksh stated that the tourism sector is still recovering from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He explained that in order to demonstrate the sector’s recovery, the GTA and Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, in collaboration with other stakeholders, have come with up new innovative ideas to promote the Guyana’s tourism sector.
“In this journey of recovery, we’ve witnessed innovation, change, rejuvenation and hence why we have this theme here today, it’s been incremental but it’s started change, we’ve adapted, and it shows that we can make progress despite a pandemic.”
The Bimichi Eco Lodge
“During Tourism Awareness Month, the Ministry, the GTA, the department of tourism, all its partners have planned a packed programme for this month, we want to demonstrate that we can recover fully from this pandemic and also to continue the developmental trajectory for destination Guyana.”
Tourism Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond, who delivered remarks on behalf of President Dr Irfaan Ali, who is at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, reiterated on the effects of the pandemic as well as the devasting effects of Guyana’s recent floods that affected most of sectors.
She noted while in recovery, the Government is aiming to make Guyana the leading tourism destination across the Americas while also promoting and growing tourism locally.
“Our integrated strategy to make Guyana a leading destination in the Americas for conventions, conferences and sporting events, we envision that visitors take the opportunity to stay that extra day, that extra weekend or even an extra week to unwind and experience what communities like this have to offer.”
“Equally important are our efforts to grow the domestic tourism market for we wish Guyana to be the default choice for Guyanese.”
The Minister added that activities will be held across all ten administrative regions and urged all Guyanese to be involved.
“Every year we designate November as Tourism Awareness Month. It is a period when we spotlight the sector, celebrate our achievements and chart the way forward, while many of the activities to mark this month are coordinated by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, there is wide involvement by stakeholders across the country including the regional tourism committees, private initiatives like Visit Guyana, restaurants, resorts and Indigenous communities.”
“You will see activities taking place from Region One to 10 and you are encouraged to actively participate.”
The event also featured of the official launch of the Bimichi Eco Lodge, which features a wide variety of Indigenous activities, culture, food and drinks.
