THAG and the GTA have different mandates

Oct 16, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
I respond to an article published in the Kaieteur News on October 14, 2008 captioned “Rival Tourism Bodies sparks war of Words.”
Let me start by clearing up a myth, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana and the Guyana Tourism Authority are not rival bodies; these organisations have different mandates. These bodies are not competing for superiority as far as I know.
However, I am under the distinct impression that some people after all these years are still confused about the differences in function of these organisations.
In this Kaieteur News article, Mr. Gouveia made statements expressing sentiments on current initiatives and actions to be taken by the Guyana Tourism Authority. There is no indication that these statements and positions are endorsed or supported by THAG.
However, such bold headlines do suggest that Mr. Gouveia is speaking on THAG’s behalf. Mr. Gouveia and Kaieteur News should be more responsible, especially when dragging third party entities into these inconsequential discussions.
I would suggest that Mr. Gouveia, as a member of the board of the Tourism Authority, read the Guyana Tourism Authority Act 91:12 Section 4, before jumping off to public tantrums that have negative repercussions for both agencies.
The Guyana Tourism Authority does have responsibilities towards regulating the industry and promoting standards and minimum regulations along with marketing Guyana as a destination. However, those are only just about 10% of the mandate. Producing an independent publication and supporting other registered interest groups are all within the authority’s mandate and have been very lacking since its formation. These initiatives should be applauded rather than be frowned upon or viewed as competition.
What does Mr. Gouveia mean by splitting tour operators? Is it to say that all the tour operators in Guyana are registered with THAG and if not, why are they not? People have choices and if a group or business or operator is dissatisfied or is not represented and wants to form themselves into an organisation then they have that prerogative.
It is the mandate of the Guyana Tourism Authority to so advise and guide any such group once there is a request.
Tourism faces many challenges, not only in Guyana but the world over. For countries such as ours it is imperative that good planning and sector wide consensus take precedence over personalities and petty aggravations which take up time and energy and yield no result.
Any promotion of rivalry between these two organisations should be discouraged. There is sufficient to be done under both umbrellas that should keep these organisations busy for a very long time to come without stepping on each other’s toes.
Mr. Gouveia should exert his energy at creating more meaningful dialogues between THAG and GTA, focused on development involving a wider range of experts and partners in the tourism sector.
Periodic consultations and incident spurred emergency calls for meetings are mainly emotionally driven talk shops that are soon forgotten once the crisis has passed.
There is need for consistency and more structured dialogues between these organisations. It will be beautiful to see THAG reaching out to the new body to be formed and mentoring them through the initial process, sharing years of institutional wisdom and creating a platform for working together.
Look at this scenario, Mr. Gouveia, as a member of THAG and the board of the Tourism Authority; the government hears your call for an increase of spending to market Guyana.
The Guyana Tourism Authority receives its funding from the Government.
Based on previous sums spent on marketing, show me the direct returns on those investments and make a case based on those figures for an increase.
That is only one example where these two entities should be competing if they should at all; gather information to use as sector intelligence for future planning and sound marketing strategies, not trying to shoot down potential partners before they are born.
Guyana has a product that is second to none, our challenges are many and retaining a positive outlook to development in the sector is necessary. I urge that we maintain a sense of practicality in our analogies.
Andre Dukhia

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THAG and the GTA have different mandates

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