…to train hotel personnel
The Business Ministry plans to construct a hospitality institute to ensure hotel personnel, in particular, are equipped with the skills they need to make visitors comfortable in Guyana.
With the oil and gas sector preparing for production in a few months’ time, visitors to Guyana have already increased.
To be sure that they have a memorable experience, Business Minister Haimraj Rajkumar said the facility is crucial.
Rajkumar was quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying he expects 500,000 visitors in the country by 2025.
The Minister, according to DPI, made these pronouncements on Saturday evening while he was a guest on the programme “INSIGHT”, aired on a local radio station.
With a huge influx of tourists expected, he noted that plans are in the pipeline to expand accommodations on the coastland and hinterland areas. Rajkumar said that while Guyana is well-known for its rich flora and fauna, there is still much to be discovered by the rest of the world.
On this note, he pointed out, “The Ministry of Business is also working to establish a hospitality institute in the future. This institute will serve to extensively train hotel owners and their staff, as well as staff at every port of entry and even the small man plying their trade. We aim to prepare our people to welcome visitors and at the same time, properly display Guyana’s products and services”.
In addition, he said tour companies will also be provided with unique opportunities to maximise the national efforts being taken to appraise and bolster the industry.
Tourism, the second-largest export sector in Guyana, has provided jobs for 22,000 persons last year according to him.
“I believe that tourism is in a trajectory and we have been improving. We have a target of 500,000 visitors coming to Guyana’s shores by 2025. In 2018, about 183,000 persons visited Guyana with the average spending of G$222,000 per visitor,” the Minister explained.
Based on an analysis of the Visitor Expenditure and Motivation Survey (VEMS) conducted by the Bureau of Statistics, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) estimated that travel and tourism injected approximately G$62.6 billion directly into Guyana’s economy last year.
In July, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) recorded a 14.38 per cent increase in visitors with a total of 24,899 for the month of June when compared to the same period last year— which was 21,769.
This announcement was made following the compilation of figures from Guyana’s main port of entries: Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Eugene F Correia International Airport (EFCIA), Lethem, and Moleson Creek.
