Insel Air adds to tourism growth through connectivity

May 18, 2014 News

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By Zena Henry
Aiming to remove Guyana from what was described as an isolated state, Dutch airline Insel Air, like some three other airlines expected to commence on the Guyana route in the near future, will present brand new opportunities for growth in the local tourism sector.
The growing topic is the explosion and sustainability of the local tourism sector as some influential stakeholders have foreseen that tourism will be one of the nation’s largest contributors.

Minister of Tourism Irfaan Ali is convinced that tourism is the “most dynamic and forward looking sector”. In fact, he says that tourism “will be the foundation of economic growth and expansion. That is why the Ministry is committed to the task of expanding the market and selling Guyana, so that more investment and the necessary enabling linkages could be made, which is not only to build the market but to collaborate with others to enable sustainability.
“The modern tourists… are the tourists with real dollars and have a different thinking of what they want with their money. Indeed they are tired of a polluted city, their borders with long stretches of white beaches and blue water. They need something to complement that already old and monotonous experience, and most modern day tourists need a new product – the kind that Guyana has to offer which is dynamic and versatile; which reaches into nature, rekindling them to the beginning of the world.”
With Insel Air’s launch last Wednesday, Minister Ali is excited about what he says is the twinning of the two markets, Guyana and Aruba, in offering two exciting experiences in a common package.
Private Sector Chairman Ramesh Persaud stressed that growth and expansion of international transport networks are good indicators of strength and stability of a country’s economy and progress in the development cycle.
“Insel Air’s partnership highlights confidence in Guyana’s potential.”
Persaud added that Guyana’s link to Aruba and Curaçao through Insel Air is more than a convenience, but rather a possible benefit from the more than 1.5 million tourists to Aruba and Curaçao annually.
It is left to the imagination, the Chairman pointed out, to determine the impact if Guyana can convert a mere one percent – 15,000 visitors to visit and stay for two days as a start.
Captain Gerry Gouveia, an advocate for tourism, noted that the sector is critical, but it took the government a long time to recognize it, and the private sector was on a lonely quest to promote Guyana as a tourism destination. He said, however, that “an airline coming to Guyana is not just an airline coming to Guyana. We want more airlifts, but the importance of marketing Guyana was not understood; the importance of making the immigration friendlier, keeping the city clean and doing all that is necessary”.
More airlifts, Gouveia opined, means “we need more people to fill seats and keep the airlines on Guyana’s route”. He spoke about the development of the Marriott Hotel and Cheddi Jagan International Airport expansion as reasons for government to promote Guyana to fill the hotel rooms.
“Tonight it’s Insel Air, a month down the road it will be COPA, and shortly after that it will be two or three airlines that will start flying to Guyana. Guyana will only sustain if we can fill plane seats. Isolated on a continent with 300 million people, Guyana stands to be the gateway to not only the North and the Caribbean, but it is a new travelling dispensation.”
Insel Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Frederick Nuboer reminded of the airline’s commencement June 18 and touched on pre-clearance which is done in Aruba before getting to the US. “This means passengers just up their bags and walk through.”
Nicole Berenos, the Sales Manager promised that Insel Air, “will help Guyana to get out of this isolation it has been in for the past couple of years. We are not just encouraging people to go to other destinations, but to bring people to Guyana.”
The seven-year-old company has promised Guyanese that it is here to stay. With Guyana, now on board the privately-owned, Curaçao flag carrier flies 18 destinations with more to come by year end. It offers free 50-pound luggage on flights to any of the offered destinations with free food and snacks and 32 inches of leg space per seating. Passengers can win tickets in the sky miles and loyalty program, while a free ticket in miles is raffled on every flight.
Guyanese will also be treated to the loyalty stop, which combines two destinations for the price of one. The company’s low air fares to Aruba for US$256, to Curacao for US$299 and to Miami for $337, will last until year end.

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