…Gerry Gouveia cops Entrepreneur of the Year Award
DESPITE the growth in local tourism over the past years, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, has outlined the need for more large-scale investments in order to make the sector a priority industry.
Speaking at the Annual Tourism Awareness Awards Ceremony at the Marriott Hotel on Friday evening, the minister said that persons continuously talk about the growth of tourism and the ways in which the industry could develop, but action is seldom taken.
“We are not where we ought to be… Guyana has remained, in some areas, at one level over the past 50 years. The country is still at square one, and in order to make the jump to scale two, we need more large-scale investments,” the Business Minister said.
According to Minister Gaskin, the sector has faced many challenges, and other sectors have not developed. He pointed out that Guyanese are losing interest in the country due to the high rate of unemployment among youths and the low scope of innovation. As such, he noted that they need to stop relying on the “small handful” of industries, which fuel the economy, and start investing in tourism.
In moving forward, the minister stressed, tourism’s true potential can be exploited like other commodities such as mining, but only if it remains a permanent item on the Government’s agenda.
In an effort to ensure that this remains important, the Ministry intends to approach the councils in the 10 administrative regions to make the right decisions that would result in the economy thriving.
The minister’s message was heard by distinguished individuals such as the Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes; Director of the GTA, Indranauth Haralsingh; President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Andera de Caires; members of the diplomatic corps, and other tourism sector stakeholders.
Awards were presented in eight categories. Taking away the Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award was Chief Executive Officer of the Roraima Group of Companies, Captain Gerald Gouveia. The People’s Choice Award for Responsible Tourism was awarded to Iwokrama, while Tour Guide of the Year was copped by Waldyke Prince. Rewa Village, North Rupununi, Region Nine, won the Most Outstanding Community Tourism Project.
Outstanding Contribution to Tourism by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or volunteer group was awarded to South Rupununi Conservation Society (SRCS), while Cara Lodge received the Service in Tourism Accommodation Establishment Award.
For Service in Tourism (transportation), Obama Boat Service copped the award, while the Investment in Tourism prize was won by Palm Spring Hotel.
In congratulating the awardees, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Country Representative Sophie Makonnen said that Guyana has the potential to grow, but stakeholders needs to put much effort into their methods of selling the country as a tourism destination, given that Guyana is known as a commodity economy.
Makonnen outlined that statistics show tourism raking in some US$7.6 trillion in 2014 and creating 277 billion jobs. Taking Guyana’s figures into consideration, the IDB representative indicated that Guyana has provided 8,300 jobs, with the industry making up 3.2 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which can be boosted tremendously.
Makonnen noted that public/private partnerships are important for the industry to become sustainably viable. The IDB representative added that tourism stakeholders must decide what is it that they want for the sector, and then begin to work towards achieving that goal.
