Georgetown : Various initiatives are being explored and will be implemented to advance tourism and liberalise telecommunications in Guyana. Minister of Telecommunications and Tourism, Catherine Hughes, on day three of the 2016 National Budget debate in the National Assembly outlined some of the plans for the sectors.
Telecommunications
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one area being examined in terms of employment creation and revenue generation.
“As a country we must recognise the importance of developing our ICT sector and placing it at the center of our development plan. Fundamental to this is providing internet access and connectivity across all regions of our country, designing a national broadband policy and implementing a supporting strategy,” Hughes explained as she commenced her debate.
Having ICTs available across Guyana can significantly contribute towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). She pointed out that the, “greater the number of broadband subscriptions in a country over time, the greater impact it will have on that country’s GDP.” This will transform the social and economic growth in Guyana.
Implementation of ICTs will allow the hinterland and coastland to be on the same page to access education. Hughes further explained that, “It means that our children in Annai attending the Bina Hill Institute or in Aranaputa for example, must be able to benefit from the knowledge and tuition of the biology teacher at Bishops’ High School or Queen’s College.” Technology such as Skype will make this possible as distance or location should not be an issue for communication and gaining information.
ICTs will also play a significant part in the health of Guyanese. “If a medic in Morawhanna needs support with a medical issue in his community, he must be able to communicate online with a doctor in Georgetown, or close by for consultation and related assistance,” Hughes pointed out.
Additionally, ICT will offer a tremendous opportunity for youth advancement. The government will help them to tap into their creativity and channel it into building businesses. “Here I’m talking for example about creating apps which I know first- hand many of our Guyanese techies are already creating and much more,” Hughes further indicated.
Meanwhile, a revised Telecommunications bill was tabled in the National Assembly and has been subjected to scrutiny of a select committee. Further consultations with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) company are continuing and it is expected that liberalisation of the telecoms sector will be completed by the end of 2016.
Tourism
In the area of tourism, there was an increase of 3.2% of visitor arrivals last month with over 14, 445 arrivals. With increased arrivals, Guyanese can benefit as they will be able to have their products displayed and sold.
The National Tourism Policy (NTP) will soon be completed after consultation with stakeholders. NTP will aim to guide interventions in the tourism sector and will emphasise eco-tourism development and selling Guyana on the international market effectively.
Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) will be aggressively used to measure tourism’s contribution to Guyana’s GDP. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) will also help in this quest. “We have a strategy in place to ensure that we complete this process in the shortest possible time frame having the benefit of the lessons learned and best practices within the CTO member countries who have successfully implemented TSA,” Hughes added.
The government is committed to research-based decision making, thus it has subscribed to the Tourism Intelligence Centre Platform for one year with five user access. The Ministry of Tourism, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and the Bureau of Statistics will be granted access to available data and trends. This, “is an important resource for travel and tourism market data, containing comprehensive consumer surveys and evaluations, alongside industry information on key companies, markets, manufacturers and financial deals,” explained Minister Hughes.
These initiatives for the tourism and telecommunication sectors, upon implementation are expected to drive development by creating jobs and economic growth in Guyana.
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