“THE Tourism sector will now be in the hands of an experienced professional with expertise in the field,” were the words of Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Indranauth Haralsingh,who has expressed optimism in the tourism sector moving forward. Cathy Hughes was sworn as Minister of Tourism on Wednesday, May 20 by President David Granger at the Ministry of the Presidency. According to the director, the minister’s appointment comes with many years of experience in various areas of the sector, which he believes will serve the ministry well.
“She has been one of the persons who have[sic] been very critical in lobbying for the establishment of the GTA in 2003 and we’re looking forward to working with her. We’re very optimistic that we can see [a] dramatic transformation in tourism, because she is coming with a lot of experience, she is coming with a solid partnership and private sector experience, because she has been a tourism operator herself.”
On the same note, Haralsingh noted that a number of initiatives that were started by the previous minister will continue, in their efforts to market destination Guyana.
He explained that the authority along with the minister “will be looking at increasing airlift…improving connectivity, improving our marketing that has been a sore issue for years, so that we can eventually improve and increase arrival, increase length of stay, increase visitor expenditure in Guyana…heritage attraction, capacity- building and training, the hospitality institute,” just to name a few.
Haralsingh boasted of the potential the tourism sector has, but noted that it has to be harnessed well.
“Tourism has the greatest potential to transform Guyana…it is an export industry and it has the best possibility and it has the best of diversifying Guyana’s economy and of bringing benefits all across the country…it creates a lot of employment, generates a lot of revenue and it brings a lot of foreign currency to Guyana.”
Recently after her appointment, Hughes related to reporters that one of the first things she will seek to develop is a proper marketing plan and a marketing programme for Guyana. “I know from my personal experience that many many people come to this lovely country, they have a great time, but too many people still don’t know where we are,” Minister Hughes said.
She explained that this plan will address not only marketing Guyana as a destination, but also increasing airlift so that tourists could fly to Guyana at an affordable price. “It still is kind of expensive for some sectors of the market place to come to Guyana,” the minister said.
She said that she also feels strongly about the Tourism and Hospitality Training School. “We have great investments, the private sector has made strong investments, but we still need to up our level of service, and it is not only in the hospitality industry, but generally in all the government offices. We want to be able to look after people well and to look after other Guyanese and tourists,” she said.
Strengthening relationships with other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states will also be a priority, especially as part of an agenda of multi-destination marketing, the new minister stated.