Guyana’s tourism sector received accolades from Chairman of the Board of Directors of Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL), George Nicholas, who underscored the potential of Guyana’s tourism products.
He noted that CAL has agreed to ‘sell’ the country with more consistency as one of its main regional destinations.
Speaking with Guyana Times International following a news conference last Friday, January 28th, Nicholas said this is his first visit to Guyana and he is already impressed with the hospitality and ‘energy and commitment’ demonstrated by President Bharrat Jagdeo.
He is convinced that the country will continue to develop if it stays true to its current economic path and ideology.
The new Caribbean Airlines chairman explained that, after meeting with the president, the CAL team was impressed with the manner in which he championed the concerns and needs of his country and people with respect to air travel and other issues.
“I have met with several other presidents and leaders around the world, but not many are in tune with the people on the ground and know exactly what (their) people need,” Nicholas disclosed.
He said he and his staff are very excited that Caribbean Airlines has decided to name one of its planes the ‘Spirit of Guyana’. He apologized for the airline’s poor service and treatment of some Guyanese, and noted that the CAL team will be looking at revising the fare structure, rates and in- transit regulations.
This will significantly boost the tourist arrivals in Guyana; and already, experts in the tourism sector are projecting the return of more Guyanese for the big tourism attractions each year.
Meanwhile, the announcement of the thrice weekly direct flights to New York can only auger well for the local tourism sector, according to tourism officials, but the country will be under more pressure to maintain its standards with respect to hospitality, hotel accommodation and general service arrangements.
It is believed that Guyana has some of the best eco-tourism sites in the world, and has the best adventure tourist packages when compared to other countries.
When questioned about the need to do more communication and better packaging of the destinations that the region has to offer, Nicholas informed that the airline understands that, in order to fill the seats of its planes, it has to promote the region country by country.
He said that significant investments are being made in this respect.
Regional economies depend heavily on tourism, which contributes significantly to their gross domestic product (GDP). However, this sector has been hard hit by the current economic and financial crises.
The Caribbean Tourism Association has even reported a significant decline in the number of tourists coming to the region as a result of these phenomena.
