BOOSTING local tourism is part of plans to diversify Guyana’s economy and stimulate much more business activities in communities. It is a good plan and with complementary efforts to train more people in hospitality, I think Guyana’s tourism sector can be a substantially lucrative one.

I have travelled to more places in Guyana than most people, so I know Guyana is a sweet place for locals and tourists alike. There is adventure awaiting anyone, whether you’re on the coast or in the interior. Therefore, I believe the government’s move to push tourism as a highly productive sector for us makes sense.

However, the obvious need to improve our communication and customer relations concerns me.

Don’t get me wrong, Guyanese are rated the most hospitable people. My experiences haven’t proven otherwise because God knows I would have been in serious trouble in many cases if people’s hospitality didn’t shine through. My concern, however, lies in habits or behaviours that we can easily work on to offer better services.

A few recent experiences have prompted me to share my thoughts here. In the first instance, a friend of mine visited Guyana for a few days and wanted to spend some time away from the hustle and bustle of the city. When we attempted to book a flight to travel out of Georgetown, we were told that online payments weren’t possible and we needed to visit the office to pay. This was strange to me because I know many places, even up-and-coming small businesses, emphasise making their payment systems more convenient. This struck me as something simple that could be fixed readily; at the very least, there could be some option to make online deposits into a bank account.

Next, we made it clear at the location that we had a fixed budget and could not deviate from it. So we asked our tour guide, with whom we had discussed our budget before hand, to tell us what we could do in keeping with our budget. However, there were subsequent issues with the tour guide asking for extra payments because he provided an extra tour. And he explained that he wasn’t clear on the budget because he had difficulties understanding my friend’s accent. Certainly, miscommunications does occur, but to avoid an issue like this recurring, I think we can be a bit more structured when offering these services. For example, tour guides could have some sort of document, be it a flyer or poster, indicating the exact costs for different activities. This experience was a learning experience for both myself and the tour guide since, I think, we were accustomed to people ‘flexing’ with us. I don’t believe poor services or anything of the sort are offered without that structure in place, but I do recognise, in retrospect, that it can lead to some issues.

The last experience I’ll discuss here is my attempt to book a trip with my younger sister. For weeks, I have been engaging a Georgetown-based tour company to secure two spots for a local tour. The high demand for tours, especially during this August vacation period, is not lost on me, so I am not frustrated when I cannot travel on the dates I would like to. I understand. What ‘bugs’ me, however, is when I am confirmed for a tour on a particular date but not informed of any cancellations. I was called one Thursday and told that my two spots were secured for Saturday; I was informed that I would get another call shortly to organise the payments required. That subsequent call never came, my calls were not taken, and my enquiries about Saturday’s tour went unanswered on WhatsApp. I found that disappointing. As a paying customer, I might be a little disappointed that my tour was cancelled, but it is certainly much worse being left clueless. I checked online reviews and it turns out, I am not the only one who was ‘ghosted.’ I think basic communication — telling me what went wrong and possibly, suggesting another date — is a standard that should be maintained. We cannot market ourselves as the place to be if we can’t engage in simple communication when people come or our services are sought. It isn’t good for business or for our image.

I know efforts are underway to help us improve our customer relations and communication in the sector. I know business clinics were held to help local operators and service providers improve themselves. And I know there are plans to train thousands of workers for the sector. These are all good, much-needed efforts. So as I said before, I wouldn’t declare that the local tourism sector is rife with poor service. It is not and again, Guyanese hospitality is rated as the best. And Guyana, undoubtedly, is the place to visit whether you live abroad or right here. As we continue to push tourism forward, we have to expect that our service providers will also push themselves forward. I believe that the sector is expanding, we’re all learning a bit more every day and there are ways we can improve the services offered and, thereby, people’s experiences.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss this column or any of my previous works, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com