MINISTER Sydney Allicock of the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs has asserted that that ministry and the Ministry of Tourism would be working collaboratively to assist hinterland communities to realise their true potential relative to community-based tourism.In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle at his office, Minister Allicock explained that his ministry’s primary focus would be on the academic and economic aspects that would achieve social upliftment.

He noted that opportunities that have not been looked at exist in all the interior communities, and he said what the people need is assistance to identify the possibilities within their areas.

The Minister said: “The reality is (that) people take things for granted, and I am speaking from personal experience. I would look away from myself, or the community or environment, and look for other opportunities elsewhere.”

He noted that, through different mediums, persons are taught that the ‘city’ is where all opportunities exist.

“We always believed everything that came from abroad is the best, and that was sort of built into (us) because of the teachings we had. We need to educate the indigenous people that we have something valuable, and have them move away from this sort of thinking”, the minister stressed.

He said that, after much research, he can easily say that “today people are looking for organic foods; experiencing a real forest; experiencing fresh air; experiencing different cultures; and most of all, tourists want to still find the people that have the understanding of the value of nature.

“Tourism would be the umbrella, since most activities done would be related to this sector,” he disclosed.

He also said that for the country to achieve any form of community-based sustainable development, many things are presently needed, the most important of which is education of the people.

“For eco- or community-based tourism (to flourish), you need transport, education, health facilities, guides, caterers (and) builders among others. Persons want to experience the new dimensions, but we have to focus on the identity of our hinterland communities, so that they can be able to sell their product,” he opined.

He emphasised that development of community-based tourism is much needed within our communities, noting that it was revealed that many tourists now prefer eco-tourism, which Guyana possesses much of.

He explained that the understanding garnered from the world market is that the areas that had previously drawn large amounts of tourists are no longer attracting those numbers because tourists are now looking for new destinations and new interests.

The Minister noted that many tourists now want to move away from the sun, sand and sea aspect of tourism into a new type of product.

“Tourists are now visiting places for the love of nature, and we have it from Region 1 to Region 10. The beauty of our country is within the interior locations,” he explained.

“Now that we have a Ministry of Tourism, we would be working very closely with them so that we can help the communities. Some of them are ready to take up the challenge, and others are now gearing themselves for this challenge,” he concluded.

By Rebecca Ganesh