Training, capital investment needed to boost Region 9 tourism

– as Region attracts below-par number of tourists

The case is being made for more finances to be invested into boosting the tourism potential of Region Nine (Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo), as the region is performing below par expectations.

This is according to Member of Parliament and geographic representative for Region Nine, Alister Charlie. He stated the region has a lot of catching up to do to raise the standards of customer service towards tourists.
“Region Nine is always a blessed region,” he said, during a recent interview. “We have a lot of foreigners come for rodeo. We have the Amerindian heritage (activities) for the month of September; we will have a lot of visitors.”
“But tourism as a whole in Region Nine is way below par,” Charlie emphasised. “We are not there as yet in terms of customer relations, the taxis involved, the hotels involved, it’s a lot of players. But for the growth of tourism in Region Nine, more finances should be plugged into it to boost tourism.”
He said that with the capital expenditure going towards road rehabilitation and other aspects of infrastructure, one of the off shoot effects would be an increase in tourism. In addition, Charlie recalled the popularity of balata figurines with tourists and noted the importance of building individual capacity.
“Attracting tourists has a lot to do with infrastructure, roads,” he stressed. “The bottom line is if we are thinking positively in terms of tourism, my perspective is that Government should focus more on building people’s capacity for tourism.
During a visit to Lethem, this publication was able to observe the detrimental conditions of the roads. Speaking specifically about the situation in Region Nine, Charlie had acknowledged that the roads were in a sorry state and that trucks were one contributory factor.
The Government had announced plans for initiatives in the tourism sector. During the budget presentation of 2017, Finance Minister Winston Jordan had said Government would undertake a stocktaking exercise of potential sources of tourism products within the 10 administrative regions.
He had also stated that the draft National Tourism Policy includes a focus on developing market-ready tourism products, enhancing the quality of service, generating increased employment in the sector, and improving tourism’s contribution to economic growth.
According to the Government, this will include elements of nature, culture, heritage, community, and other assets that could serve as the basis for the development of tourism in the regions. The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) had announced the establishment of a “tourism circuit” with the implementation of training seminars to improve the customer service provided by front desk personnel.
At one such training session in Linden earlier in the year, GTA Director Indranauth Haralsingh had said his agency is hoping to combine Linden, St Cuthbert’s and Mahaica as a tourism circuit, where the training would allow greater hospitality services.
“So from fishing, watching monkeys to touring an Indigenous community, to the final destination which is Linden, and on the way out, maybe stopping on the highway at Splashmins, wherever it is a unique experience and that is what we are trying to do, to increase the total number of visits to these destinations,” Haralsingh explained.
The GTA Director had charged the front desk officers to know how to conduct themselves in front of customers. It was also highlighted that the agency will check with the businesses that participated in the training for feedback.
A total of 170,318 visitors arrived in Guyana during the first three quarters of 2016. Visitor arrivals peaked in May, with over 24,000.