WITH Guyana on the rise in the regional and global tourism markets, new ways are being sought to fast-track this process and make Guyana an ideal tourist hub. Therefore, the government, along with the other stakeholders in the industry, will be moving to implement the Tourism Statistical Accounting (TSA) system.TSAs provide for an official, objective and credible measure of the economic contribution of tourism, while equipping the government tourism agencies with a powerful tool to be used in advocacy for the industry.

Stakeholders were given a rundown on what to expect from the accounting system, given that Jamaica, The Dominican Republic and The Bahamas have successfully implemented it, and the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) is on the move to get more countries involved.
Hence, a TCA inter-agency committee comprising the Ministry of Tourism, Bureau of Statistics (BoS), Bank of Guyana (BoG) and the Immigration Department was formed last December to conduct a TSA-readiness survey.
SENSITISATION

This having been completed, stakeholders are now in the third stage of sensitisation, this being the workshop.
Addressing the gathering yesterday, Minister of Public Telecommunications and Tourism, Catherine Hughes, said, “This workshop will take us where we want to be, which is on the road to full implementation of [the] TSA, so that we could successfully account for every dollar spent in the industry.”
With the support of the private sector, and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) in particular, Minister Hughes declared that the accounting system would be a requisite foundation for tourism development in the country.
“With the price of gold on the world market low, the sugar industry in economic crisis, markets for bauxite slowly disappearing and markets for rice depleting, tourism is the main alternative to sustain the country until the other industries recover,” emphasised the minister, while alluding to the fact that tourism represents 8.9 per cent of Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
As such, the enhancement of the sector is vital, because, according Hughes, “If we can achieve this GDP with only moderate governmental support over the past 10 years, imagine what the future holds, especially at the end of 2016, as Guyana begins to attract more tourists, especially nationals living in the Diaspora, and properly record the revenue which the sector generates and spends.”
However, the investors in many other key areas prefer to keep their information “close to their chests,” making it impossible to determine what the sector is worth and could achieve.
GAME CHANGER
Thus, if agreed upon and implemented, the TSA will bring about a change in that without any assistance, once stakeholders commit to ensuring that systems are crafted and maintained.
Echoing the minister’s sentiments was President of THAG, Shaun McGrath, who underscored that for years they have been pleading for a method to check the level of investment, the level of job-creation, and the role of tourism in all the industries involved, hence with the advent of the TSA, all those questions could be accurately answered.
He added: “The measure of success has been based largely on visitor-arrivals, which does not necessarily mean we are growing… but the overall impact of the industry, comprehensive data of hotels, motels and resorts will be needed to improve the sector.”
Therefore, everyone should be encouraged to get involved with tourism, and play their part in making TSA possible, he urged.
Meanwhile, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), through TSA they are committed to developing tourism measurement for furthering knowledge of the sector, monitoring progress, evaluating impact, promoting results-focused management, and highlighting strategic issues for policy objectives.
The programme works towards advancing the framework for measuring tourism and expanding its analytical potential, designs practical guidance for their implementation in countries, supports statistical strengthening in countries through capacity- building, and compiles and disseminates tourism statistics of countries all over the world.