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European tour operators strike out Guyana
– THAG says listings may pick up in the coming year
Wholesale tour operators in Europe who had promoted Guyana in their brochures have dropped the country, but the leader of the local private sector grouping of tour operators is optimistic about the future.
“This is a big blow because we had only recently persuaded them to list us,” Renata Chuck-A-Sang, the President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) said Wednesday.
THAG President Renata Chuck-A-Sang presents an award to Yog Mahadeo of GT&T for the telephone company’s support for the Association. The Award was presented at the Annual General Meeting of THAG on Wednesday.
She told the annual general meeting of Association that 2008 was another challenging year for tourism because of the world economic crisis, with a decline in the number of bookings by local tour operators.
However, responses from recent familiarisation trips have indicated that interest in Guyana is still there and the country may pick up listings in other brochures for the coming year, Chuck-A-Sang stated.
The Association, she said, has continued to build its relationship with the Guyana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism.
Towards this end, she said the Association was happy that after years of lobbying the government for tourism regulations, the government this year made this a reality. However, she said this was just the legislative portion and much work has to be done to ensure that everyone in the industry fully understands and becomes compliant with the tourism regulations.
“Work in this area is not done yet and this association has pledged to work together with the Guyana Tourism Authority to ensure that the regulations remain relevant to Guyana’s tourism industry yet meets global standards in tourism,” Chuck-A-Sang stated.
THAG members are leaders of the tourism industry, and she therefore encouraged them to meet and exceed the requirements of the regulations.
The issue of Value Added Tax (VAT) continues to be a sore point for the industry and it was a matter Chuck-A-Sang did not spare to lend a strong voice to.
“We are a fledgling industry with the potential to benefit the widest cross-section of our population.
“We are therefore insisting that the issue of VAT as it relates to the tourism sector be given serious re-consideration in particular when it involves interior resorts, lodges and hotels with under ten rooms,” she declared.
She said the fact is Guyana’s tourism is priced out of reach of most of the country’s tourism target market.
Chuck-A-Sang also pointed out that Guyana’s limited airlift continues to pose a very serious handicap to the industry.
“While it is difficult to get a flight into or out of Guyana, the airport management whose revenue is mostly derived from landing fees will tell you that the number of flights into Guyana is still down,” she stated.
THAG wants therefore for airlines that currently service Guyana to seriously examine the possibility of increasing the number of flights into this country.
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