Tourism for all

Raising the Tourism Sector’s profile and status in Caribbean countries has been the focus of many if not all countries that have a heavy reliance on tourism, which is one of the main economic sectors and also a major source of revenue, foreign exchange earnings, jobs and investment.
Guyana, like many other countries, plan and execute national tourism awareness programmes annually, in an effort to achieve the goals of raising the profile of the sector and educating various publics about the positive contributions of this sector.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates tourism’s contribution to Guyana’s GDP at 8.9 per cent. Whichever it is, it is clear that tourism is making a huge impact on our country and has the potential to be one of the leading sectors and largest employer of especially our young people.
As the sector continues to develop, the stakeholders are moving aggressively to accurately measure tourism’s contribution to Guyana’s GDP. In November last year Government established a Tourism Satellite Accounting sub-committee, as they move towards research-based decision-making.
Another integral part of the drive to highlight the potential of the industry is the implementation of a robust awareness programme; this year Tourism Awareness Month, which is commemorated in November, will be executed under the theme “Tourism for All – Building partnerships for Tourism Development”.
Given the potential of the sector, it has become even more important for everyone to understand their role in the development of the sector and more importantly to understand how they stand to benefit from this cross cutting industry which connects everyone in every community, town, region and by extension, the country as a whole.
If Tourism is to be examined under a microscope, one will find that it provides jobs to many across varying sectors; it is a primary source of revenue for several indigenous communities and has a tremendous impact on society.
As a people to people industry, it is imperative to forge strong relationships for the development of tourism in Guyana. The Industry consists of a network of stakeholders working hand in hand to achieve economic prosperity; both public and private sector members need to realise and play their roles effectively to ensure the Industry recognises its full potential.
It is for this reason that the emphasis this year is on strengthening partnerships and creating new ones for the continued development of the burgeoning industry.
Evidently, Guyana has the potential to become a leading destination for Sustainable tourism; in fact research shows that Guyana has a competitive advantage, however time and time again, as Administrations come and go, policies and directions shift and goal becomes all the more elusive.
We have seen concerted and dedicated efforts from the Private Sector and the industry leaders who now need to accelerate their efforts in communicating to the populace that there is a concrete plan going forward and that dedicated efforts will be placed on finding solutions to the constraints and challenges, identifying opportunities and setting benchmarks for the growth of the industry.
Businesses, investors, service providers, and citizens need to have the confidence that indeed there are benefits of investing their time and efforts in growing the industry.
More importantly, they need to know that the Administration is taking the industry seriously. Then and only then will there be the ‘bye in’ that indeed Tourism is for all.