– THAG President says
By Vishani Ragobeer
GUYANA has a unique tourism product which is suitable for ‘COVID-19 safe’ activities, according to President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Mitra Ramkumar.
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Ramkumar highlighted that many of the tourism activities Guyana offers are done in small groups, even before the pandemic struck Guyana and devastated the industry.
Guyana is a world-renowned eco-tourism destination, and many of the activities and travel opportunities are done in sparsely-populated areas in small groups. Additionally, Guyana offers many community tourism opportunities, which also does not cater for large groups of people. It is for this reason that Ramkumar posited that Guyana’s industry has “tremendous strengths and opportunities” in a COVID-19 environment.
Tourism Awareness Month, observed annually during the month of November, provides the tourism sector with a good opportunity to spring back into business, according to Ramkumar. Moreover, he emphasised that it offers Guyanese the opportunity to explore their country more, as travel to foreign countries is restricted.
“We as a people need to stop looking at tourism as a luxury but as a necessity, because it’s what the doctor ordered; people need to relax and rejuvenate,” he said.
For this month, Ramkumar also highlighted that the popular event, Restaurant Week, which has not been abandoned, will give locals the opportunity to experience some amount of fine-dining. Over the past few months, there have been restrictions on fine-dining in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“For Restaurant Week, we’re only going to be doing outdoor dining with strict protocols,” Ramkumar said. Tables must be placed six feet apart, and persons dining will sit three feet apart from each other. Sanitisation protocols will be in place, and the restaurants will be required to have fully-digital menus, chalkboard menus or disposable menus.
Given these distancing requirements, there is a reduction in the number of restaurants participating in the event this year. Only the major restaurants, which are large enough to accommodate that, are onboard so far. These include the Marriott Hotel, Herdmanston Lodge, the Duke, Cara Lodge, Jaxx International Grill, New Thriving, and Watooka House, in Linden, to name a few.
Ramkumar said that THAG is looking into facilitating curb-side pickup and delivery, so that there are a greater variety of options for patrons of the restaurant week.
“While we want to reopen, we want to ensure that we follow the protocols and guidelines employed,” he emphasised.
