Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2007, there were over 903 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 6.6% as compared to 2006. International tourist receipts were $US856 billion in 2007.

Despite the recent global recession, international tourist arrivals during the first four months of 2008 followed a similar growth trend than the same period in 2007. However, as a result of the economic crisis of 2008, international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months, while growth from January to April 2008 had reached an average 5.7% compared to its 2007 level. Growth from 2006 to 2007 was only 3.7%, as total international tourism arrivals from January to August were 641 million tourists, up from 618 million in the same period in 2007. (Wikipedia)

However, global tourism is already feeling the effects of the financial crisis, slowing down over the northern summer this year, the United Nations tourism agency reports, warning that the industry could suffer a sharper downturn in the months ahead.

Consumer demand is falling in both the business and leisure tourism sectors, according to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), which held a two-day Executive Council meeting that concluded yesterday in Madrid.

International tourism grew around 5 per cent between January and April this year, compared to the same period in 2007, but started slowing down when the summer holidays began in the Northern Hemisphere.

The World Tourism Barometer, compiled by a UNWTO panel of experts, “now shows a perceptible loss of confidence regarding the short-term outlook,” the agency said in a press release following the meeting.

UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli told the Council’s meeting that numerous tourism businesses worldwide were already suffering from the credit crunch and many consumers were cutting back on travel spending.

“Experience teaches us that tourism is resilient, but there is no denying that there is a certain stage of deterioration of the situation beyond which tourism too will begin to suffer,” Mr. Frangialli said.

UNWTO said it expects that tourism could be hit even harder over the remaining months of this year and the first half of 2009 as the slowdown filters through the global economy.

Against this backdrop it is heartening to hear that arrivals here for this year have increased for the comparable period last year because tourism is playing an increasing importance to the national economy. Any downturn in tourism therefore would have a spill-off effect on the national economy.

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce reported that there was just over a 20 per cent increase in arrivals in July, pushing up the number to an 11.4 per cent increase at the end of last month, when compared with the same period in 2008.

Compared to 2008, in January there was a seven per cent rise, and 21.8 per cent increase in February, a 5.8 per cent decline in March, an 11.5 per cent increase in April, 7.7 per cent in May increase, an 18.8 per cent increase in June, and up to just over 20 per cent in July.

Prashad observed that this increase is coming against a backdrop of a decline in tourist arrivals in the entire Caribbean.

He noted that there has been as much as a 30 per cent decline in tourists’ arrivals in some of the Caribbean countries, which means significant losses in jobs and a severe dent in the economy since most of these countries depend heavily on tourism.

Guyana’s tourism industry is a relatively young one but it is unique in that it offers adventure and eco-tourism unlike its Caribbean counterparts which offer the traditional sun, sand and sea. And in today’s world there is a growing gravitation towards the adventure type/eco-tourism. In these parts our major competitors are Costa Rica and Belize but with a much greater diversity in flora and fauna and geographic landscape. And therefore with time we would be able to effectively ward off this competition

It also has a huge potential with continued aggressive marketing and promotion it could become a really huge local industry capturing a much larger slice of the national economy.