Guyana’s tourism industry

November has been designated “Tourism Awareness Month” in Guyana. The focus appears to be on those individuals and institutions behind the yeoman efforts to develop our tourism sector. In other words, according to our minister of tourism: “to highlight the accomplishments of the sector; to disseminate information; to educate; to reward and recognise individuals, communities and organisations for their sterling contribution towards the development of tourism in Guyana.”
There is no question that in the traditional tourist trade that has sustained so many of our Caribbean neighbours, there is much work that needs to be done to place us as a credible tourism destination. The typical tourist comes to the Caribbean from the ‘developed north’ – Europe and North America – to escape their frostbitten winters. They could unwind in the ‘sun and surf’ of Caribbean beaches with lilting calypsos humming in the background while sipping rum and coke.
With the growth of an ‘eco-tourism’ market during the 1980s out of the eco-environmentalist consciousness fostered in the previous decade, Guyana had an opportunity to take advantage of its strengths: massive untouched tropical forests with a spectacular diversity of flora and fauna, inland waterways with jaw-dropping falls, savannahs, and mountains that presented contrasts for the complete spectrum of the sub-sector.
Other countries, especially Central American countries such as Costa Rica, plunged vigorously into eco-tourism and they have reaped a rich harvest. From virtually zero in the 1980s, Costa Rica now receives more than two million tourists annually who contribute eight per cent of its GDP. Some slogans reflect the new focus: Belize: “Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret”;  Costa Rica: “No artificial ingredients”; Ecuador: “Life at its purest”; Guatemala: “Soul of the Earth”; Indonesia: “Ultimate in Diversity” and Panama: “The path less travelled”.
With conservationists alarmed at the destruction of tropical rainforests, the Iwokrama forest preservation project launched by the previous regime was the quintessence of ecotourism: “Responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.” But it was not until the PPP came into office in 1992, that tourism – whether “eco” or otherwise – began to be promoted in a coherent fashion. In the last few years, the Ministry of Tourism has taken the lead in attempting to market Guyana’s eco-tourism potential as “Guyana – The Amazon Adventure”.
That we still have a far way to go is reflected in a 2010 NY Times article posted on the ministry’s website. While acknowledging “In recent years… the country has started pushing to capitalise on its often stunning scenery, abundant wildlife and rich Amerindian heritage, repackaging itself as a haven for adventurers, naturalists and eco-tourists,” the writer, of Guyanese decent, remarks candidly “Guyana is truly off the tourist path … is a place that rarely registers as a vacation spot.”
It is rather unfortunate that Guyana’s push into eco-tourism has coincided with the collapse of the North American and European economies. As with the older mass ‘pleasure’ tourism, most eco-tourists come from those locales and it is not surprising that our eco-tourism is stagnating simultaneously with the Caribbean’s ‘sun and surf’ product. We are also not too sure that the effort to piggy-back on the well known “Amazon” brand to market our product was not perhaps misplaced. It would be tough to reorient the world’s perception of Brazil as the home of the Amazon – especially when its name is already a household word.
Technically, our Guyana Shield is not even a part of the “Amazon Basin” as demonstrated by the simple fact that almost all our rivers, save the Ireng forming the Brazilian border, flows north into the Atlantic. Perhaps in recognition of the ground realities, the theme for this year’s Tourism Awareness Month is “Re-discover Home”. It is obviously taking aim at the huge expatriate Guyanese population that have their navel string buried here.