Tourism Authority never supplied false visitor data - Director

Tourism Authority never supplied false visitor data – Director

May 22, 2015 News

… Expresses optimism of sector being transformed

By Jarryl Bryan
The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) yesterday sought to clear the air over allegations that visitor arrivals provided by their Director during press conferences were false and misleading.

Director of Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Indranauth Haralsingh

According to Director of GTA, Indranauth Haralsingh during a press conference at the GTA’s Sophia office, the figures were derived from the Management Information System for Tourism (MIST).
This system, according to Haralsingh, analyses data from the embarkation/disembarkation (E/D) cards provided by Guyana’s immigration to all incoming/outgoing passengers. The passengers are required to fill out information such as nationality, age, gender, country of birth, residence, intended length and place of stay and purpose of visit.
The cards are then delivered to the GTA in batches of 51 each, for the authority to input the info into MIST, after which the cards are returned to immigration. It is from this data that the amounts of tourists are determined.
He also explained the distinction between a tourist and a visitor.
Haralsingh described the system as foolproof, since every person arriving has to fill out a card. According to him, data is currently being pulled from the main ports of entry e.g. Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Ogle Airport, Moleson Creek and Lethem.
He gave further assurances that the MIST system was designed directly by the Caribbean Tourism Authority under United Nations World Trade Organization (UNWTO) definitions.
The data, he explained, was crucial for the purpose of Government planning, policy, investment, research, informing the public and shareholders, as well as market research. He also declared that based upon the data, arrivals had doubled over the past 12 years
Based upon preliminary figures from the GTA, Guyana’s quarterly performances with regard to arrivals for 2015 are ahead of last year’s first quarter figures. Data show that the period of January-March 2014 had 40,713 arrivals, versus the 46,369 for the same period this year.
Haralsingh also spoke of several key elements of tourism to be addressed, in order to transform the sector, including airlifts, improved connectivity and marketing, as well as more emphasis on the heritage market.
He also revealed that the “Guyana, ‘South America undiscovered’ brand would be continued.
Regarding his new boss, Minister of Tourism Cathy Hughes, Haralsingh expressed appreciation for Hughes’ background in tourism and travel, stating that it would be a boost to the ministry. He was also of the view that the tourism sector would be transformed under the new administration.