Re-discovering the new world of the Americas

Mar 25, 2018 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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(Address by H.E. President David Granger to the XXIV Inter-American Congress of
Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Tourism on March 21, 2018)

The Americas are the ‘new world.’ The Americas are different from the ‘old’ worlds of Africa, Asia and Europe.
History records how a motley crew of eighty-eight undocumented European sailors landed on an island in the Bahamas here in the Caribbean 525 years ago on 12th October 1492. The trickle of visitors turned into a torrent.
The Americas are unique in world history. They possess spectacular attractions. They have more than the traditional Mediterranean and Pacific sun, sand and sea tourism. They are rich in cultural diversity. The immigrants, together with the indigenous peoples, have woven a fantastic fabric of faiths, festivals and foods.
The Americas are endowed with un-spoilt islands, highlands, grasslands, wetlands, waterfalls, lakes, rivers and rainforests which are the habitat of unmatched flora and wildlife.
The Americas must protect and preserve these priceless assets for the benefit of present and future generations.
The Americas, despite their just wars of independence and a few civil wars, are a hemisphere of relative peace in today’s turbulent world. The promotion of sustainable tourism initiatives and the marketing of the Americas as a ‘zone of peace,’ in a world with so many wars and conflicts should be subjects for consideration by this Congress.
The protection of the Americas’ patrimony – its natural assets, its cultural diversity and this blissful state of peace – is the bedrock of sustainable tourism.
The tourism industries must be protected from the perils of transnational threats such as cybercrime and trafficking in drugs, guns and people. Security cooperation against transnational threats will make our societies safer.
Guyana likes to describe itself as “a continental country with Caribbean characteristics.” It is the only English-speaking country on the continent of South America and can be a ‘gateway’ to the Continent for the goods, services and peoples of the South to markets and destinations in the Caribbean, Central America and North America.
Guyana’s commitment to hemispheric integration is manifested in its membership of hemispheric organizations – the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Association of Caribbean States (ACS); Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR); Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC); Organization of America States (OAS) and the Union of South American States (UNASUR).
Guyana describes itself, also, as the ‘green state’ – one that practises sustainable development by harnessing its rich natural capital, unique biodiversity and diverse ecosystems. The ‘green state’, will allow Guyana to develop a resilient tourism sector by protecting its environment.
Guyana – together with Brazil, Colombia, Suriname and other states of Central and South America – is home to some of the giants of the world. The largest anacondas, ants, anteaters, armadillos, bats, caimans, eagles, fish, jaguars, otters, rodents, snakes, spiders, storks, toads, turtles and vultures in the world are to be found here.
Today, Wednesday 21st March, the world celebrates ‘International Day of Forests.’ Guyana is proud to boast that over 75 per cent of its territory is still covered with forests.
Tourism connects countries, markets, peoples and services of the hemisphere. It can contribute to the economic development of the Americas and to the well-being of future generations by becoming more sustainable.
This ‘Congress’ is urged to seek solutions to ensuring that the Americas can catalyze their tourism potential by increasing annual tourist arrivals. This ‘Congress’ can do this by:
– protecting the Americas’ natural capital by developing a concerted approach to the environment;
– promoting increased connectivity between tourist destinations by encouraging the development of infrastructure ; and
– providing smaller states, particularly the small-island states of the Caribbean, with easier access to investments to build a more resilient industry.
Small island states tend to lack the resources to finance their own air and shipping lines so that new routes can be exploited to boost tourist arrivals. Travel needs to be cheaper, easier and faster. Destinations need to be connected efficiently to make tourism more competitive.
The Americas can straddle the sea and integrate the continents through information and communications technology. This Congress should consider charting a roadmap for a single ICT Space of the Americas.
Sustainable tourism requires sustained action to ensure a more climate resilient tourism sector. Climate change is real; it is not an intellectual invention or political sophistry. Climate change represents the most potent threat to Caribbean tourism, particularly to small-island and low-lying coastal states.
Rising sea levels are eroding beaches, destroying coral reefs and disrupting marine life – all prime Caribbean tourist attractions. Extreme weather patterns are precipitating droughts and floods which diminish food supplies and customer services needed by the tourism sector.
Climate resilient tourism will help the hemisphere to recover from natural hazards. The increased frequency and ferocity of hurricanes in the Caribbean, as last year’s season can attest, inflicted severe damage to infrastructure – bridges, boats, hotels, roads, resorts and utilities which are vital to tourism.
The 21st century must become the ‘Century of the South.’ The North and East have had their day. It is now South’s turn. A sustainable tourism sector can make this century an occasion for rediscovering the ‘New’ world.

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