–with massive increases in domestic, international travel

TOURISM continues to be one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; however, the outlook for Guyana is bright, with the country recording massive increases in both domestic and international travel.

Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Director Kamrul Baksh, during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said that the sector is expected to make a full recovery and has already exceeded global expectations.

“We have attracted a lot of attention because we have a world-class product; our recovery is strong at 83 per cent, far exceeding the global average of 65 per cent,” Baksh said.
To further advance the sector, much focus will be placed on upgrading standards in the industry, improving digital marketing, increasing influencer marketing, as well as raising the service levels, he related.

For the year 2022, Guyana recorded a massive increase in travel at three of the country’s main ports of entry, where an overall total of 717,822 passengers were processed, representing an 82.6 per cent increase in arrivals over 2021.

The number represents passengers processed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, the Eugene F. Correia Airport at Ogle, and at Moleson Creek, Corentyne.
Additionally, the pandemic saw a renewed interest in domestic travel.

President of Visit Rupununi, a local tourism franchise, Melanie McTur, shared with this publication, that tourism has had ripple effects across the hinterland communties, where tourism is prevalent.

“We have discovered that tourism is not only an economic earner, but it has ripple effects across the society. If you look at the North Rupununi (Region Nine), in the last 20 to 30 years we’ve had tourism, we’ve seen now a re-emergence of culture.”

McTurk said now that domestic tourism has restarted, there is a positive impact on jobs and businesses at some destinations.

“In addition to just the revenue, there has been much more… tourism has also brought tremendous opportunities for young women and girls in the Rupununi.
“Once, there was a time when only men had work, and now many of the lodges, you’ll find as many women, if not more women working than men, and you’ll find many of the administrative roles are also being fulfilled by young women, young Indigenous women, which is really wonderful,” she added.

So, although the pandemic had its negative effects, there were some positive highlights, with one being the influx of local tourist.
“You could say the legacy of the pandemic is we saw a lot more local tourists and Guyanese tourists than ever before. And that’s a wonderful experience, because for many of us, we take joy in sharing the Rupununi with others and even more joy in being able to share it with Guyanese,” McTurk said.

In November 2022, the region saw many travellers visiting various eco-lodges and other tourist hotspots.
“November [was] probably the first real tourist season they have seen, and it’s a wonderful thing, we’re sort of tired because we haven’t worked this hard in two years; but at the same time, it’s wonderful to start seeing tourists again, and to start seeing large groups,” McTurk said.