THE tourism sector is poised for an incredible takeoff in 2024, as $530 million is allocated to provide opportunities for skills upgrading and lifelong learning by offering competence-based training, assessment, and certification methodologies that meet regional standards.

Senior Minister, Office of the President, with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh in his budget presentation remarked that over the period of three years, 49 new tourism experiences were launched, 22 of which were launched in 2023. Substantial support was given to the circuit development approach in Regions Two and Nine.

He said 2024 will focus on promoting travel and high-quality experiences through the establishment of tourism circuits in Regions Five, Six, Eight and 10, in keeping with the government’s manifesto promise of promoting nature, eco and adventure tourism.

Dr. Singh said, “Guyana is on the cusp of becoming a leading sustainable tourism destination and global accreditation is important to convey to prospective travellers the values and principles that guide this development. To this end we will continue to pursue country level accreditation from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in the ensuing year.”

He noted that the volume and cost of airlift in Guyana have historically been one of the key factors constraining growth in the sector.

“In order to ensure the expansion of airline routes and seat volumes, our government has maintained efforts to improve connectivity between Guyana and the rest of the world with new services and routes,” the Minister said, adding that in March 2023, the British Airways introduced a twice weekly service from London VIA Saint Lucia.

Meanwhile, in September 2023, Canada Jet Lines, in collaboration with Fly Always, improved access to the Canadian market by introducing a twice-weekly briefing service to Toronto. Suriname Airways, in December 2023, introduced a Bridgetown- Georgetown- Paramaribo service.

Singh remarked, “These new services, as well as additional flights put on by current carriers, together added 150, 234 seats, or 14 per cent more than in 2022.”

Notably, efforts to connect Guyana to the rest of the world by United Airlines from Houston to Georgetown will be flown four times a week, set to begin in April 2024.

He highlighted that this provides another route to the US, with improved connectivity to third cities in the US and beyond, and will ease the pressure and increase availability on existing Miami and New York services.

Furthermore, in June 2024, it was said that American Airlines would expand their services with additional daily flights between Miami and Georgetown. The new services by the two airlines will add 137,268 new seats to the market this year. This is likely to have a significant impact on seat availability, pricing, commuter options, and convenience.

The budget also speaks to hotel room capacity, which is also set for a significant increase, addressing the second constraint in the tourism sector, the availability and cost of international standard rooms.

“In this regard, our government has actively worked to attract private investment in the industry, and I am happy to report that over, 1,000 world class rooms will be added to the stock by the end of 2024,” the minister said.

These internationally recognised chains include the Aiden Best Western in Georgetown, Marriott Courtyard at Timehri, Four Points Sheraton at Providence, AC Marriott at Ogle, and the Hyatt Place at Providence.

Construction is expected to continue on several other hotel properties in West Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, each of which will further increase the room stock of the industry upon completion.

Meanwhile, 6,000 persons have been trained in the hospitality sector, ranging from health, hygiene, and sanitation programmes, of which in 2023, over 2,000 tourism personnel in each region were trained in areas of business and social media marketing, delivering quality service, leadership, and governance.