Guyana won’t miss a beat when pandemic is over
Former PSC Chairman, Gerry Gouveia
Former PSC Chairman, Gerry Gouveia

– industry players commend special incentives for new hotels

By Lisa Hamilton

PSC Chairman, Nicholas Boyer

GUYANA’s continuous success in the oil and gas sector has cemented the fact that its economy will experience a big economic ‘boom’ and not even a global health crisis can stop this. Envisioning that more economic activities will mean more visitors and investors coming to the country, President Dr. Irfaan Ali announced, on Monday, that new hotels will receive special incentives, a move which will likely attract even more investors.

In an invited comment on the announcement, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Boyer, said that the plan is “genius” as, though the pandemic may appear to be a barrier, now is the opportune time to invest in new hotels as, in just about two years, with a vaccine, the coronavirus will be a thing of the past.

He averages that it takes an international-standard hotel just about two and a half years to be constructed so, when the pandemic is safely over and the economic boom begins, Guyana will not miss a beat.

“I’ve seen a lot of visitors who are interested in investing in Guyana as well as in the diaspora who are interested in re-investing into Guyana. So, it is understood that, despite the pandemic, business tourism will grow, not this year, definitely not this year and probably not the first half of next year but… when you put in the incentives you give the investors a kick start to their projects,” he mapped out.

Also sought out for his thoughts was former PSC chairman and owner of the Duke Lodge, Gerry Gouveia. He agreed that there was a need for incentives in the hotel industry and, by planning ahead for the economic boom, the country stands to benefit all-round.

THAG President, Mitra Ramkumar

“With the oil and gas sector we have to plant more hotels, more international brand name hotels. To do that, we also have to create the incentives for them so I totally agree that all incentives that can be given to help the development of new hotels, to build the hotel stock, should be a welcomed thing in Guyana,” he said.

Gouveia also sees the manufacturing sector being significantly boosted by the planned gas-to-shore operations of the government which will increase power capacity and bring lower gas prices to Guyanese.

Asked whether, through his past management of the PSC, he has seen an interest in the setting up of new hotels in Guyana, he said: “Absolutely. Everybody is seeing the writing on the wall where Guyana’s economy is concerned and we haven’t even tapped the natural gas coming off the oil rigs as yet…Guyana is really destined for big, big things and new hotels, big hotels, international brands are going to become very, very important for us.”

JOBS AND CAPACITY

Meanwhile, doing some of his own calculations, Boyer averages that there were about 200 construction workers at the Marriott Hotel project which lasted for two years. This means that four such additional hotels would bring 800 jobs to Guyana. When the projects are turned over from construction to operation, he highlighted that jobs would now be available for service providers. He advised: “Now is the time to get these projects kicked off so that you have the capacity when you need it.”

Working to ensure that Guyana has that capacity is the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) working towards the construction of Guyana’s first state-of-the-art Hospitality Institute.

Already, a US$250,000 contract has been awarded for the building’s design. A plot of land had been identified and THAG is in last-stage discussions with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) which will be funding the construction.

“The Tourism and Hospitality industry will really cater for the vulnerable in our society. We’re talking about women, single mothers, youths, high school dropouts, these persons who really need help,” President of THAG, Mitra Ramkumar, explained, adding: “This is where the Hospitality Institute will come in now where persons will be able to go to this Institute and come out with various skill levels, which ever one that they find attractive.”

Some of the available career paths he listed were chefs, kitchen assistants, bar tenders, front desk workers, housekeepers and more, all the way up to a General Manager. The institute is expected to be located in Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) at the back of the Massy Supermarket.

POOL OF SKILLED WORKERS

Head of GO-Invest, Owen Verway

Boyer agrees that Guyana needs to develop a pool of skilled workers to meet the needs of the many hotels which will soon spring up. He pointed out that, currently, Guyana only has a limited number of hotels that meet the standard of international investors who come to the country during large trade shows and business events. In the past, he noted that hotels with the monopoly have hiked their prices when a large number of visitors come and there are not enough rooms.

“It was clear, that pre-pandemic Guyana did not have enough hotel rooms because a single event like GIPEX would knock out all the hotel rooms across the city. We can’t hold a large event like that because it is a painful thing to hold when foreign persons come in to invest in the country and they really have a hard time finding accommodation,” he said.

Looking forward to hearing more in the budget presentation of what sort of incentives will come to new hotels is Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Owen Verwey. He told the newspaper that several incentives for hotels already existed. They included the waiver of duties and taxes on items imported such as construction materials and hotel furnishing. With over 150 rooms, hotels can tap into even bigger incentives.

“I don’t have all the details of what is in the offering and tomorrow [today] we may hear more and get more details on that,” he said.

Like those aforementioned, he said that interest in Guyana remains high despite the pandemic and Guyana will, without a doubt, benefit from high investor interest due to its successful oil and gas sector.

He said: “There are probably about five to six hotels that are in the making. Some of them were awaiting the political situation, some of them it was because of COVID, some of them were looking for the right location but there are quite a few in the making…I don’t think you’ll see anyone turning away their interest in Guyana any time soon.”

Guyana’s 2020 Budget, delayed as a result of the March 2 Elections, will be presented today at the second sitting of the 12th Parliament by the Minister with responsibility for Finance.

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