A BARBADOS–based publisher is working to market Guyana’s tourism potential internationally while citing the need for a more proactive approach to promoting this country’s eco-tourism sector globally.

Businessman Robert Pitcher, who operates several tourism-based websites in the Caribbean region through his company Fun”N” Sun Publishing based in Christ Church, Barbados is courting the authorities here in an attempt to feature tourism on his CaribbeanTraveller.com website.

The interactive forum has been providing travel and tour information to travellers for over twenty years and Pitcher is visiting Guyana to interact with tourism entities and the authorities with the aim of improving the country’s tourism products.

Speaking to sections of the media on Tuesday at the Georgetown Club, Pitcher said that three weeks ago he met with the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Donald Sinclair and he briefed the official on the website. He said he was then pointed in the direction of Guyana Tourism Authority.

He said that at the moment the publishing entity is working on the compilation of information relative to Guyana’s tourism industry and he noted that the research will focus on essential information which is relevant to the visiting tourist.

“Information on the site every day”, he said of the website, noting that if a bar or hotel undergoes changes, the information is updated online. He added that the company which is staffed in Barbados ensures that all information published is current. He said that the company started in the print media by starting a driver’s manual for Barbados and several other regional jurisdictions.

“We have been for a number of years showcasing the Caribbean as the greatest destination that one can want to travel to”, he said. He noted that using the website, he promotes the islands and other countries within Caribbean.

“Whether you are Dominica or you in Guyana to do fishing or looking at the different species of animals
we want to promote the Caribbean. Adding that Guyana and Dominica are the main nations in the region where eco-tourism is vibrant. ”It beats me why for so many years the tourism authority in this country did not see it fit to promote eco-tourism which could help in the earning of foreign reserves”, he said.

“Tourism is the number one industry in the world”, he said, adding that the potential of Guyana has been ripe for marketing for many years. “Hence we are in Guyana to promote the country as the major eco-tourism destination “, he said noting that his website will be used as a vehicle to this effect.

“They need to function at so many levels that it is going take some time to make them understand that this industry has to be moving”, he said of the GTA.

He opined that there is need for a tourism minister who will focus solely on tourism and a ministry to promote Guyana as a main source for eco-tourism in the world.

The government has been allocating large sums geared at the development of the Tourism sector here.
In February this year, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, who held responsibility for the tourism sector at the time, noted that the 2016 National Budget’s direct contribution to the Tourism Sector has increased from $214.6 million in 2015 to $312.7 million in 2016. This represents a $98.1 million or 45.7 percent increase in direct allocations to the Tourism Sector through the Tourism Ministry and the GTA.

She added that a National Ecotourism Policy which recognises this important niche within which we have a strong competitive advantage was being considered.