THE Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) on Thursday launched Tourism Awareness Month 2019 under the theme “Force for Good”, at a simple ceremony at the Cara Lodge on Quamina Street, Georgetown.

GTA Director Brian Mullis said Guyana has so much to offer, and we want to make it more accessible to residents, the Diaspora and international travellers.

Noting that there are many ways tourism can invite the public to experience tourism first-hand, Mullis said that through Tourism Awareness Month, residents and international travellers can be encouraged to explore more that Guyana has to offer, as a number of activities have been planned for the month-long event, with the aim of highlighting Guyana as a leading sustainable destination, through activities that will showcase the diversity through the products being offered and the people who deliver them.

TRADITIONAL AND NEW ACTIVITIES
According to Mullis, activities will include a ‘Mystery Shopping’ spree and the launch of an ‘I Love Guyana video and Logo campaign’; new day tour in the community of Morakabai (the only Amerindian community located in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice that is accessible to residents of Georgetown; a seven-curry tour, which will entail participation in the making of curry and visits to factories that produce some of the ingredients for the making of the product and a variety of other activities.

He explained that ‘Mystery Shopping’ will entail the GTA hiring individuals to visit and experience ‘certain’ offers by businesses and gauge the effectiveness of the training programmes that were implemented in relation to improving customer service and other standards to meet international tourism export standards.

For the series and logo campaign, Mullis said the GTA will be creating different tee-shirts with designs and quotes emblazoned on the shirts based on the pillars of tourism, including heritage, active exploration, birding, nature wildlife and safe travel, which is scientific, academic, volunteer and educational travel that makes Guyana so special.

He said that for this year alone, Guyana has been recognised as the world’s number one eco-tourism destination; the best in sustainable tourism; the best in destination stewardship, and a Top 10 sustainable destination in the world. However, continuous improvement is required to maintain the position as one of the leading sustainable tourism destinations globally.

Among other events on calendar for the month, Mullis said, are an ago-tourism expo, the tourism sector fair that continues to grow in popularly yearly; school talks at different schools and the ever-popular Guyana Restaurant Week hosted by The Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and Scavenger Hunt. The events will conclude on December 10, 2019 with the hosting of the Tourism Awards ceremony.

TOURISM AWARENESS COMMITTEES
For Director General in the Department of Tourism Donald Sinclair, Tourism Awareness Month 2019 differs in a substantial way compared with what obtained during previous years in terms of the input and impact of each of the 10 administrative regions.

He said that tourism awareness committees have been established in all of the regions, so as to have them included in the activities, and that the proposals they submitted were interesting and innovative. The GTA is in the process of launching new products, in collaboration with communities such as Chinapow, Karasabai and Warapoka.

For him, the regions are becoming more conscious of what they have, from a tourism standpoint, and what they need to do to raise the standards to make their regions more accessible to visitors. Initiatives to enhance the awareness of the diversity of the Guyana tourism product, and the increasing awareness of the Guianas are two ways in which TAM 2019 is special.

On this note, Sinclair mentioned that a meeting of the Guyana Tourism Committee involving Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana will be hosted in Guyana next week, and that Guyana has much more to offer than a single attraction and there is attraction in different areas.

TOURISM AND POLITICS
President of the Tourism Hospitality Association of Guyana Mitra Ramkumar likened Guyana to being seen as the new oil- and-gas frontier, and tourism as a new frontier industry as well. But he opined that tourism is highly underestimated, and that he would like to see it being recognised as such and take Guyana to another level.

Reiterating remarks he made at a previous function about the THAG Board meeting with all political leaders who will be participating in the upcoming regional and general elections, Ramkumar said it is to seek out their position on incentivising the tourism industry to achieve the triple bottomline of People, Planet and Profits.

He said he wants to see tourism included on the Manifestos of the respective political parties, as he recalled a former United Nations Secretary-General who remarked that tourism is the third largest export industry in the world after chemicals and oil.

The THAG president disclosed that he and three others, representing Iwokrama, Evergreen Tours, and Trans Guyana Ltd Wilderness Explorers, Atta Lodge, and the Canopy Walkway will represent the Association at the World Travel Market to be held in London starting November 04, 2019.

FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIC SECTOR
Noting that tourism is globally recognised not only as one of the fastest growing economic sectors, but that it is non- extractive in nature and for its contribution to the 17 sustainable development goals, the GTA director Mullis said that given this country’s long-standing sustainability agenda, it is no surprise that tourism is increasingly becoming a priority, value-added sector that requires an increase in investment.

Referring to data provided by the Bureau of Statistics, he said there is an estimated average expenditure of $222,000 per visitor, and that a perusal of the 2018 data shows it has contributed to 22, 000 jobs and approximately $62.6B to the Guyana economy, thus making tourism the second largest export sector in the country.

Noting that a well-managed tourism industry helps to preserve cultural heritage and protect the environment, Mullis cited a United Kingdom (UK) Guardian newspaper article that gained global recognition, which mentioned that every average European traveller coming to Guyana creates about 2.8 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Mullis however explained that in the community of Wailler, where the community protects the forest and has only 200 visitors yearly, a total of 700, 000 metric tonnes of CO2 is generated per annum. He said it is those visitors who are the reason that the community is helping to protect the forest, adding, there are lots of other examples that are similar in Guyana and which the GTA would emulate. Such tourism is referred to by as either eco-tourism or conservation travel because it actually has a net positive benefit to eco-system services.

Present at the launch and visiting here in Guyana for the first time is Ms. Diana Collingwood, Assistant Commissioner of Agriculture from the US Virgin Islands. She will be attending the first-ever Agri-Tourism expo to be hosted by the GTA.