WITH a slowdown in business, many have been feeling the squeeze, but apparently not the
aviation sector, which continues to see a regular flow of goods and passengers.Contact with several air service providers are saying that the sector has remained buoyant
with a steady flow of customers going into the Christmas season.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Roraima Airways and Dynamic Airlines representative,
Captain Gerry Gouveia said flights are booked, especially by travellers to Guyana.
“We are going to be expecting a very nice Christmas; locally, many of the flights are being
booked up, especially to the resorts and trips to Kaieteur and our hotels as well… Things
are picking up in other businesses also. When I visited the Giftland Mall it was
jam-packed with people so there seems to be a nice sense of optimism prevailing,” the
businessman noted.
He said in the tourism sector business has already started to build-up.
Trans Guyana Airways, Public Relations Consultant Kit Nascimento said that according to
Chief Executive Officer of the Correia Group of Companies, Michael Correia, they have not
noted any economic downturn in the industry.
ASL Manager Annette Arjoon-Martins said she is gearing up to serve the market for the
Christmas season and next year’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations.
Arjoon-Martins said apart from a decline in gold mining services, ASL has diversified, so
there is no major downturn in the aviation sector.
However, other air service providers who were authorised to comment were not available
when contacted. In a gradually contracting global economy where commodity-producing
countries continue to record a crippling growth rate, the seven pillars of Guyana’s
economy: sugar, rice, bauxite, gold, diamonds, timber and remittances have all suffered
major setbacks for the first time in recent memory.
Government’s financial expert and Minister of Finance Winston Jordan believes that the
economic slowdown,which the country started to experience in 2014 will soon be over and
things will pick up in December.
He is of the view that there are several contributing factors to this alleged slowdown,
both locally and internationally. The Finance Minister opined that the legal and
regulatory framework for financial risk assessment and mitigation, to deal with any
financial vulnerability that can threaten the resumption of sustained growth in the
Caribbean, must be strengthened.