RORAIMA Airways has hailed the inaugural Sports Tourism seminar hosted by the Departments of Tourism and Sports last Saturday as “a positive step in the further development of Guyana’s nascent tourism sector.”
Speaking on Roraima’s participation in the seminar, Chief Executive Officer Captain Gerry Gouveia said: “I congratulate the Departments of Tourism and Sports and will lend support wherever possible to see the development of the Sports Tourism industry in Guyana. The impacts the development of this industry like other Tourism niches would have on the economy, especially for the creation of jobs for our young people, would be tremendous.

Roraima Airways is ready to continue its support for the development for Guyana’s Tourism industry.”
The Departments of Tourism and Sports jointly held its inaugural Sports Tourism Seminar on Saturday, April 29 at the Pegasus Hotel, with special presentations by veteran sports commentator, Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira and the acting Brazil Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Ronald Vieira.

According to a release by the company, the event facilitated sports organisations, and representatives of the tourism, customs, immigration and security sectors providing inputs on the development of a plan to advance Guyana’s sports tourism agenda. This historic seminar comes at a juncture where the number of tourists visiting Guyana for sporting ventures has been on the increase for the last six years, according to statistics from the Guyana Tourism Authority.

“On behalf of Roraima Airways, I congratulate the Departments of Tourism and Sports for hosting a successful, first-of-its-kind Sports Tourism Seminar in Guyana. For too long, we have ignored our tourism potential and have been left behind in the Region. The tourism products in Guyana, if truly developed, can add to the diversification of our economy. With the renewed focus tourism is receiving, I am heartened at this move.” Capt Gouveia said, as he praised the seminar.

Capt Gouveia made reference to the on-going work that needs to be done for development of the other niche tourism products that have been in the making for some time, such as Destination Wedding Tourism. In anticipation, he looks forward to the tabling and passage of the amended Marriage Licence Act legislation in the National Assembly. This legislation would enable non-nationals to process their marriage documents in a shorter time in order to get married in Guyana. He also praised the vision and tenacity of the Director-General of Tourism, Donald Sinclair, in his leadership of the Department of Tourism.