THE Government of Guyana remains committed to the development of tourism and to providing the initiatives and the investments that lay the foundation for the sector to expand. Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad gave that undertaking on Wednesday, while addressing the gathering at the 2011 Guyana Tourism Awards Ceremony, in the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara.
He said investments in health care, information communications technology (ICT), education, infrastructure, hydro, One Laptop Per Family (OLPF), solar panels for the hinterland communities, bridges, roads network, the Marriott Hotel, Olympic size swimming pool, the synthethic athletic track, a new airport, resurfaced South Dakota race track, deep water harbour along with the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), concessions for new investment, stable democracy and a growing economy are all laying a solid foundation for expanded tourism.
“We need to take the risks as entrepreneurs to exploit these opportunities,” Prashad said.
He said, as a result of these interventions, tourism has become one of the fastest growing sectors in Guyana, as a source of foreign currency, revenue generation, employment and increasing investments, thereby contributing to an increase in visitor arrivals to the country.
Mr. Prashad observed that the country’s tourism sector has shown great resilience and durability during the current economic recession.
In this regard, he explained that, in order to sustain tourism, there must be certain fundamentals in place.
“In order to grow tourism and reach its true potential, all stakeholders must demonstrate and have the ability to adapt to change and to be responsive to global trends. Tourism is about positioning ourselves in the international marketplace and offering an experience that is second to none. Therefore, we need to benchmark ourselves internationally,” Prashad maintained.
World class
He said that, while Guyana celebrates Tourism Awareness Month, under the theme of ‘Achieving Service Excellence through Training’ it is important to invest in training so that the service providers can deliver a world class experience which will exceed the expectations of the visitors.
“Excellent customer service can provide us with the competitive advantage we need in this highly labour intensive and service oriented export industry,” Prashad posited.
In closing, the Tourism Minister took the opportunity to challenge the service providers and stakeholders to do the same, given the government’s commitment and initiatives.
“Whether you are a front line staff, whether you are chefs, property owners or managers, I challenge you to have the vision to modernise, to adopt and embrace new technologies, to be service oriented and to partner with Government to make Guyana realise its true potential in tourism,” Prashad  exhorted.
The most recent achievements in the tourism sector includes the increase in arrivals, increased participation at international travel trade and consumer shows, the fact that Guyana has won the Sustainable Tourism Award and will be hosting the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC)from April 15 to 18, 2012.
In addition to this, Guyana has dramatically improved its international destination awareness, through marketing strategies and pro-active international public relations.