–to help advance community-based tourism, cultural heritage development

IN developing one of the regional patrimonies, tourism products, sites and attractions, the Guyana “Rum Route” Forum was Thursday launched at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

In attendance were stakeholders from the Department of Tourism, the Guyana Tourism Authority, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, GUYSUCO, the National Trust, distillery staff and factory representatives, students and researchers, among others.

Secretary-General of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Hugh Riley, said the regional scope and objectives of the “Rum Route” is to support national development agendas related to diversification of the tourism experience and expansion of the benefits of tourism to rural communities.

He explained that rum is a regional indigenous item, which stemmed from a colonial past and there is need to develop and strengthen niche-market segments related to culinary, agro-tourism and community-based tourism linked to cultural heritage development.
Riley said the idea is to promote the Region’s rum and related products to generate opportunities for increased business for local communities.

In order to enhance tourism into and around the Caribbean, the secretary-general said there is need to showcase the history of rum and sugar-making, while highlighting the cultural and historical significance to promote “Rum Route” tours and packages, regionally and internationally.

Underscoring the pillars of Rum Tourism in Guyana, he underscored that the country is known for its award-winning rums and spirits; diversity of culinary and cultural experiences; ethnic and social diversity; the opportunity to expand rural tourism and opportunity to expand community-based tourism.

Meanwhile, recently elected President of The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Mitra Ramkumar, said every sector of Guyana benefits from tourism and its potential needs to be seen, while investments and expansion programmes are nurtured.
“Tourism makes everyone of us ambassadors of our country and we must be proud of what we do,” he said.

He said that Guyana’s small population does not have the consumer’s capacity needed to drive businesses exponentially, but with tourism and the in transit population, this can drive consumers’ capacity in the country.

Ramkumar said that all businesses will benefit, especially manufacturing, agriculture and culinary outlets. He said foreigners are looking for the experience which only the Caribbean and Guyana can offer.

“We are a land of six peoples and each of us if we preserve our culture, be proud of it and celebrate it, it will be a market of great value,” the THAG president said.
In brief remarks, Minister of Business with responsibility for Tourism, Dominic Gaskin, who declared the forum open said the “Rum Route” is a part of Guyana’s heritage with its exceptional standards and fascinating stories about rum and sugar is like no other.

“We need cooperation if we want to develop the “Rum Route” and the tourism industry can make a significant contribution to Guyana’s development,” he said
When questioned on the sideline about the reason molasses is being imported to fulfil the distilleries demands, Minister Gaskin explained that the situation is unfortunate due to GuySuCo’s decline over the years.

As such, he said it has affected the production of molasses and the amount that is required for this year to produce rum which is not locally available.
“It’s unfortunate, but it’s a temporary situation, which hopefully won’t have to be repeated next year,” Minister Gaskin said.

He said currently the assets of GuySuCo have to be valued and proposals have to be evaluated as government took the decision to consolidate the sugar company into three estates in order to make it viable.

“Sometimes to go forward you have to take a step backward, we have seen a decline in production and that didn’t start this year, it has been happening for some time now, and that is why the decision was taken,” he said.

The flagship “Rum Route” initiative by the CTO was launched in 2017 to integrate various activities and interactions related to rum within the Caribbean tourism experience.