“Guyana ready for big leagues in tourism” – Pres. Ali declares

With the number of hotel rooms rapidly growing, coupled with heavy investments to enhance experience and infrastructure across the country, President Dr Irfaan Ali says Guyana is positioning itself to be a major player in the regional tourism market.

The Head of State made this remark on Saturday while delivering the feature address at the commissioning of the US$18 million Plaza Court Hotel on Main Street, Georgetown.

“Today, as we open the Plaza Court Hotel on Main Street, we’re making a statement – a statement that says, ‘Guyana is ready, ready for the big league in tourism. We are going to play in the league. We are not spectators anymore. We’re coming for the market. We’re coming hard, and we’re coming to be successful.’”

“We have a vision, which we are converting to a mission. It is to establish Guyana as a premier sustainable tourism destination in the Caribbean and South America, where unparalleled natural wonders, culture and world-class hospitality converge to create transformative experiences for visitors and shared prosperity for all Guyanese,” President Ali noted.

According to the Guyanese leader, Guyana has been described, for decades, as a country with great potential – potential for ecotourism, cultural tourism, adventure tourism and so on. Today, he stressed, the country is realising this potential in its quest to emerge as one of the premier tourism destinations in the Caribbean over the next five years.

“To turn [potential] into reality, you must build a platform, and we recognise that the foundation of any serious tourism industry is infrastructure. Tourism does not happen in brochures. It happens on runways. It happens in ports. It happens in hotels. It happens in communities that are accessible, prepared and proud. That is why Guyana has been investing decisively in this physical and social infrastructure,” the President posited.

Already, the fruits of these investments are showing. President Ali disclosed that he had discussions earlier on Saturday with at least nine different groups that are coming to Guyana to host conferences this year.

He said, “…a common theme in all of those groups was ‘we are now looking at Guyana because you now have the infrastructure, you now have the rooms, and you now have the capability.’ All morning, I spent with these groups ensuring that we are supporting what they’re doing and we are going big. As I said, I don’t want to jump the gun, but hopefully we can get something huge that we’re going for – huge, and if we get that, we have to accelerate 100 times faster in the next four years.”

The Head of State pointed out that these conferences are coming because Guyana has positioned itself in the market by creating a space it never had. This, he outlined, is as a result of the investments made by the private sector and their confidence in his Government’s vision of creating a thriving tourism and hospitality sector.

According to the President, there is more to be done. “Over the past five years, Guyana has experienced a remarkable transformation in its accommodation landscape… But the next phase is to match the eco-lodges and match investment in a nature-based product or eco-based product with the same intensity for the development of hotels. And we’re going to match it. We don’t have a choice. The only choice before us is success,” the President stated.