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What about lowering prices for local citizens to visit our lovely sites?

Jun 14, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
For me Guyana is a really extraordinary country, and for various reasons neglected. Majority of the blames I personally put on the administration that got elected by the people of Guyana to govern properly. Some tried and some got stymied by others and at the end Guyana suffers tremendously.
Every country tried various methods to develop themselves utilizing what is available to them locally and the most successful means that is rapidly increasing is tourism. From all indication and my humble opinion is that Guyana does not seem to be even preparing to enter that race. Looking at many other countries and the way they promote themselves, I believe that if Guyana is to do the same we would be a far way in the tourism race.
The little pickings that enter Guyana is comical but given the amount in the past, it seems to be sufficient reason for them to lay back and celebrate. Tourism offers many forms of benefits, including employment, increase spending in communities, marketing for out produce/products, development of communities, opportunities etc. but why more concentrations are not being given there boggles my mind.
There’s no worthy preparation taking place to motivate tourists to visit Guyana, except a few relatives and friends returning and being classed as tourists. There is an abundance of wildlife, sceneries too numerous to mention, adventures to experience etc. and incredibly, Guyana cannot be marketed to attract tourists. Apart from attracting visitors from other countries, there seems to be no leverage for locals to visit tourist attraction sites throughout Guyana.
The cost does not change for locals and that is bad because when you ask someone living in Guyana about certain places in Guyana, they cannot answer because they never visit there and chances are that they cannot afford to, even though they are interested in going. There should be some flexibility for people living here that would give them the opportunities to visit places and I’m quite sure they will assist greatly in marketing/promoting Guyana freely, using the various social media sites.
Editor, recently I visited Lake Mainstay at Essequibo, and as usual I was just in awe at the location, the design and the views going there. Going to the resort, you’ll see small villages before reaching the place and I don’t see anything on display that would attract tourist like art, craft and so on especially when the villages are Amerindian villages. One of the biggest sores that is hampering that place is the road to reach there.
It is in such a condition that it would deter anyone in just a few minutes from leaving the public road. As it is now, it takes you almost one hour to reach Lake Mainstay from the public road and sometimes when the road is graded you could reach there in just fifteen minutes. Going to the site is by river taxis and if you are going with your vehicle, the method being practiced by Transport and Harbors Dept. is very fatiguing. Chances are you will not get to go the same day and return so, time is very much of the essence if you want to go to Lake Mainstay although there’s the option of staying there, many prefer going home.
The conditions of the road are the same under the past administration and with this present one, nothing has changed. That road is a sand and loam road and it should have been graded at least once a month because apart from the resort, the road is utilized by the residents of the various villages and also by the farming community. Now that the rainy season is here, at the two sides of the road is what seems to be walls, the water lodges in the middle and when vehicles traverse, huge holes are being formed which is painful.
That is only one location that is being stifled for resources or being unable to achieve income to maintain itself and there are many similar ones that hopefully I will be able to point out the flaws later. I have intentions of continuing about the wanton harassing by members of the Guyana Police Force on the roadways, crime and the incompetence to deal with it.
Sahadeo Bates

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