THE Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Visit Rupununi (VR), and Swisscontact on Friday held a press conference at the GTA boardroom, National Exhibition Complex, to highlight details of the Demand-Based Living Destination Development & Management Map and Action Plan process the agencies are undertaking.

The GTA also penned a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Visit Rupununi, which also launched its 2019 calendar of events.
GTA Director Brian Mullis said through the development of the action plan, the GTA and its partners have become familiar with the strategic visitor flow approach, its method and tools. He added that GTA is working with Swisscontact to strengthen the capacities of leaders in the travel and tourism sector and move toward a demand-based approach to guide tourism product and infrastructure development.

Mullis told the gathering on Friday that the action plan is designed to be the blueprint for prioritising and implementing the product, attraction and infrastructure development elements of the strategy in an evidence-based manner. The plan, he said, is also designed to link to and build on the regional tourism development work, led by the Department of Tourism.

Mullis said, “This approach will enable us to capitalise on resources, avoid duplication of effort, and realise the growth potential of travel and tourism and past investments in product development (e.g., in indigenous communities).”

He added that the approach is also designed to foster stakeholder engagement, new partnerships and tourism investment, and improved resource efficiencies.
Mullis told the press conference that the approach to tourism development and planning in Guyana has been largely ad hoc.  Although this is the norm in many destinations, oftentimes it does not work, he said.

He said in his view, Swisscontact’s commitment to empowering sustainable tourism development within destinations is unsurpassed globally and their role is to build the capacity of five leaders in tourism and train them to take the lead in developing, implementing, updating and expanding upon the action plan.

Mullins added that the methodology is based on the University of St. Gallen’s Model for Destination Management, which has been successfully implemented in destinations worldwide.
Swisscontact’s Veronica Schanderl said her company is deemed the leader of training and capacity- building in global tourism promotion and they have had sessions with key stakeholders and other agencies to safeguard local destinations and looked at tourism on a demand basis.

Their goal, she related, is to let visitors spend more, feel more welcome and their ultimate aim is to seek the best way forward in their approach methodology.
Meanwhile, President of THAG, Mitra Ramkumar, said the effort is one of partnership which involves the stakeholders and key agencies, since tourism is a demand-driven focus and a demand-based approach is needed for visitor’s flow and how to get them to stay longer and visit more resorts and places, among other things.

President of Visit Rupununi, Melanie McTurk, said with its area and beautiful biodiversity, the warmth and richness of its indigenous and ranching culture and the inextricable connection of the people to the land and wildlife, the Rupununi is also the birthplace of both the conservation and eco-tourism movements in Guyana and today represents the bedrock of the nation’s international tourism offering.

McTurk stated that in July 2015, in response to stakeholder recommendations to have one body to coordinate tourism efforts in the region and with support from Conservation International, Visit Rupununi was formed, becoming Guyana’s first Regional Destination Management Organisation (RDMO).

She pointed out that as an RDMO, Visit Rupununi (VR) markets the services of its members, provides support through training and capacity-building and represents stakeholder interest at the regional, national and international levels.
McTurk noted that for more than three years, VR has worked with a mixture of community-based enterprises, private operators, regional organisations and, most notably, the RDC and GTA to provide: access to various training opportunities, representation at exhibitions, technical advice, and as a forum for information and stakeholder input on a range of issues relevant to the development and enhancement of the sector.

She told the press conference that for 2019, VR has launched a calendar of activities and signed an MOU as part of its action plan to increase the quality, competitiveness and visibility of the Rupununi Tourism Product in both local and international markets by promoting the Rupununi as a single destination with a variety of distinct products, propagating sustainable business practices, increasing community culture resources and working in collaboration with relevant agencies and groups to increase the role of tourism stakeholders in regional development.

McTurk said the calendar, for the first time, allows visitors and prospective visitors, at a glance, to know what are the big events and more importantly, when.
Speaking on Guyana’s tourism development plans, GTA Director Brian Mullins said the national tourism boards require national tourism policies, strategies and action plans to create an enabling environment for the tourism private sector, guide tourism development, and maximize the benefits.

Guyana, he noted, does not currently have a Cabinet-approved national tourism policy. However, the Minister of Business, the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), and GO- Invest have been working with the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and key stakeholders in the tourism sector to prioritize recommendations and improve the enabling environment for sustainable tourism development.

In addition, the DOT and GTA have led the development of a living Guyana Tourism Strategic Action Plan: 2018-2025. The plan is designed to be dynamic and is continuously evolving, based on changing circumstances and priorities, lessons learned, resource availability, stakeholder input, and the like.

Mullins pointed out that the Guyana Tourism Strategic Action Plan is informed by the Green State Development Strategy and input from governmental departments, the tourism private sector, civil society and community leaders.