By Rehana Ahamad

THE establishment of a Tourism and Hospitality Training Institute has been on the cards for several years now. As a matter of fact, in 2014, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government had budgeted some US$4 million for the construction of the institute. Later in 2019, the Coalition Government had announced the award of a US$250,000 contract to finance the building’s design. At that time, the land for the project was being finalised.
In December 2020, shortly after the PPP/C was voted back into office, the government said that the Caribbean Development Bank has approved a US$11 million (approximately $2.3 billion) loan for the development of the institute.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, confirmed that as part of the national 2021 budget, $185 million has been allocated towards continuing the long-awaited project.

During his presentation to the National Assembly on Friday afternoon, Dr. Singh said that once established, the facility will accommodate some 1,800 students annually. The institute is also projected to have the capacity to offer certificate, diploma, associate degree and degree courses in areas relating to tourism and hospitality.
Singh said that the advancement of the tourism sector has been severely hampered by significant skills gaps existing at all levels. This has often been compounded by the fact that there exist few opportunities for trainings to be done locally.
“To address this glaring mismatch between demand and supply, in 2021, work will commence on the construction of the Hospitality Tourism Training Institute (HTTI) for students to be trained and certified annually,” Dr. Singh told the House.
He said that the institute is being pursued as a means of supporting the growth and development of tourism as a rapidly emerging sector that should be equipped to provide a world class experience in service delivery.

HOTELS AND TRAVEL

The Finance Minister, in his presentation, informed that Guyana currently has in excess of 150 hotels, along with 30 resorts and lodges that provide an approximate room capacity of 3,400. “Most of these accommodations can be characterised as traditional and rustic establishments with only a small number of business-oriented accommodation properties of international standard,” Dr. Singh highlighted
He said that against this backdrop, the government recently invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from private investors desirous of developing new hotel properties that would improve the quality and quantity of accommodation in Guyana.
“More than 25 EoIs were received and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) concluded with potential investors. These projects are all privately financed and many of them involve major international hotel brands,” Singh noted, adding that six of these investments will see the commencement of construction in 2021.

“These initial incoming investments will add an additional 1,000 hotel rooms in the near term and potentially a total of 2,000 to 3,000 rooms in the medium term, catalysing the development of the accommodation subsector and dramatically improving overall industry standards.”

Dr. Singh said that during this year, his government will be seeking to increase air connectivity and make access easier and more affordable. Additionally, Singh said that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of investing in domestic tourism, as well as crafting packages that appeal to the diaspora market.
“To improve the resiliency of the sector over the medium-term, the sector will focus on offering unique culinary tours, excursions, soft adventure and experiential tours in an effort to diversify the tourism product portfolio,” Singh said.
“The government has established regional tourism committees in a number of regions, and will work with them to help develop the local tourism product, including by more active promotion of event-based tourism and local niche attractions such as Easter on the No. 63 beach in Region Six, regatta in Region Seven, Rodeo in Region Nine, and the fish festival at Rockstone in Region 10,” Singh concluded.

COVID-19 AND THE DECLINE

The Finance minister reminded the House that the global tourism industry is among the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated decline of 70 to 75 per cent in international arrivals, when compared with 2019.“In Guyana, visitor arrivals are estimated to have fallen by 72.5 per cent in 2020 – from 314,727 in 2019 to 86,503 in 2020. With measures in place to limit transmission of the virus, the tourism and hospitality industry came to a standstill, halting travel experiences, in-person engagements and virtually every other aspect of the industry,” Dr. Singh posited.