RESIDENTS of hinterland regions can soon expect a significant increase in technical and other forms of support for tourism expansion and other socio-economic activities, Minister of Tourism, (ag) Irfaan Ali told Amerindian leaders in attendance at the Sixth National Toshaos Conference Wednesday. Highlighting the widespread developments that Guyana has experienced in the international community as a result of its advocacy efforts to fight climate change, Minister Ali said Amerindians should be credited for their significant contributions in this regard.
“From the tourism perspective, I want to assure you that President Ramotar has given a clear directive that we are going to build community-based tourism around our hinterland and riverine products and this is going to be a great priority for us,” he said.
Speaking on day three at the NTC Conference at the Guyana International Conference Center (GICC), Liliendaal, he noted that recently the country was featured in the National Geographic travel magazine as one of the top 50 travel destinations, specifically as a result of the way in which its unique tourism product has been preserved and protected.
The ministry has invited one of the best tourism marketing development and promotion companies in the world, Newfoundland, to develop Guyana’s marketing programme to ensure that the local tourism product takes off within the next two to three years.
Minister Ali lamented that since the commencement of the Linden issue, there have been over 38 cancellation of tours to Region 9, accounting for more than 150 potential visitors who had already booked the tours.
Additionally, 60 students who were coming into the country for a reunion at Annai and Kaieteur National Park were forced to cancel, making a total of over 220 registered tourists who would have cancelled their visit to Guyana as a direct result of the Linden situation.
“The cost of this is more than US $300,000 that could have been plugged into the local communities to improve their community-based tourism products that we are advancing. As a result of the actions at Linden, we have robbed the people of Region 9 of more than $60M in their tourism product,” Minister Ali said.
He called for good sense to prevail and for the residents of Linden and those responsible for leading them astray, to understand that national development priorities go far beyond Linden itself.
Over the next year, the Tourism Ministry will be working aggressively with hinterland communities to develop community-based tourism.
He spoke of the Improving Livelihoods through Low Carbon Economic Development of the Rupununi Project. This is a Guyana Government project in collaboration with Conservation International (CI).
It includes the establishment and implementation of the Rupununi Innovation Revolving Fund, which is expected to be administered through the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI). It seeks to develop a lending portfolio with the possibility of establishing specific modalities for lending to women clients.
Another component of this project will facilitate business communities and government networks for climate responsive development in the Rupununi.
“We are going to be reaching to hinterland communities so that you can establish small chicken projects, which would be very viable in the hinterland. Our local consumption of chicken has grown from 900,000 pounds to 1.5 million pounds per month from January to now, so we have a shortage of about 600,000 pounds every month and this is due to the increasing demand in the mining communities,” Minister Ali explained.