Tourist arrivals in Guyana up by 20 per cent in first quarter

The Tourism Ministry has reported a record high of 36,352 arrivals in the first quarter of this year, representing a 20 per cent increase over last year’s international arrivals.

“It is clear that the country’s interest in tourism is very aggressive at this moment. This steady increase is testimony to the continued investment in the country’s tourism sector and the aggressive marketing strategies used,” acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Irfaan Ali explained in a statement.

The Unites States (U. S.) remained as the top market with a total of 18,500 visitors for a share of 49 per cent of the total tourist arrivals during the first quarter of this year, while visitors from the Caribbean accounted for 8670 or 35.3 per cent of the total arrivals.

Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Indranauth Haralsingh attributed the increase in arrivals from the U. S. market to the boost in airlift to and from North America.

He said “Delta Airlines continues flying to Guyana from North America, and EZjet, a new carrier, has also commenced flights direct from New York. In addition, with the introduction of direct flights by Surinam Airways, we have seen an increase in airlift to Guyana.” The third and fourth biggest generating markets were Canada and Europe with 5549 and 2131 visitors respectively, added to this, arrivals from the South and Central American markets steadily increased from 542 visitors in 2011, to 563 in 2012.

Market

performance for 2012

The current year-to-date (January to April 2012) summary indicates that visitor arrivals increased by 18.3 per cent, with a total of 54,853 visitors compared to 44,525 for the same period in 2011.

Visitor arrivals from the United States market recorded a 20 per cent growth for April 2012, with a total of 11,116 visitors, compared to 9260 in April 2011.

The Canadian market increased by 14.6 per cent with visitors from Canada recorded as 2451 compared to 2139 in April 2011; while the European market decreased in April 2012 by 7.7 per cent.

The European market decreased in April 2012 by – 7.7 per cent – the market provided a total of 648 visitors compared to 702 visitors recorded in April 2011.

More significantly, the Caribbean region recorded a noteworthy increase in April 2012 by 20 per cent, with a total of 3748 visitors, compared to 3123 in April 2011.

These figures can be attributed to the fact that Guyana hosted the recently concluded 13th Annual Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC 13) from April 15 to 18th, which attracted more than 300 registered participants from the Caribbean region, in addition to more than 30 local and international journalists.

Major attractions

It is important to note that from January to April this year, Guyana hosted several mega events which contributed to the record arrival figures during this period.

The first month in 2012 saw 10, 836 visitors arriving in Guyana, many of whom were attracted to the annual Kashif and Shanghai football finals and the 15th anniversary of the Sonia Noel Fashion Show, among other events; there was a marked increase of 11.8 per cent in arrival over the same period last year.

Promotion and marketing continued in February, with the staging of Mashramani celebrations and the second annual Lake Mainstay Regatta – Jet Ski Fury; 11, 722 arrivals were recorded for this month, compared to the 9365 recorded visitors from 2011. There was a 26.9 per cent increase in arrivals in March of 2012 over the same period last year, which was a direct result of the staging of several exciting events during that month, particularly for the Phagwah celebrations.

April began with the first round of the National Race of Champions; this was followed by the Easter Weekend celebrations, during which time a series of events were staged across the country. Other major attractions at the beginning of the month were the Rupununi Rodeo, HJ Easter Fest featuring international performers, Glen Washington, Beres Hammond and Mr Vegas, the Bartica Regatta, Wedding Expo and the 13th annual Sustainable Tourism Conference.

Bollywood singing sensation, Sonu Nigam also performed at a live concert in April, ending that month with a record 18,501 tourist arrivals, compared to 15, 516 from last year. It is evident from the figures and the overall trends that visitor arrivals keep climbing, and according to Minister Ali, it is expected to continue along this trajectory with major upcoming events lined up, such as the inaugural Food, Arts and Music (FAM) festival on Independence Day; this event is expected to attract even more visitors to Guyana. “We are going to build our tourism product around this event in the future. The FAM festival is now going to be regarded as the core tourism event for us, and it comes at a time every year when we will be celebrating our independence,” he said.

Upcoming events include Bikers Fest, Jamzone, and a 50-mile mountain biking event in August.