Georgetown: The government has recognised the potential of the tourism sector and will continue to aggressively pursue policies and work with small establishments that play a key role as the tourism product is advanced.
Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Irfaan Ali made this assertion, when he met with scores of small hotels owners from across Guyana, they met to discuss marketing strategies to propel the industry forward.
During this engagement, the Minister noted that the key to achieving and maintaining high occupancy in the smaller establishments, was in creating linkages and designing a marketing plan to help drive traffic to the destination.
“The time has come to make our ideas work and to formulate a plan for the small hotels,” Ali declared.
The drive to support local businesses has been strengthened by the tourism Minister’s pledge to work along with the small hotels in an effort to boost occupancy; already there have been reports of smaller establishments operating at full capacity, particularly as ties are strengthened with operators in Suriname.
Over the last few months, more that 600 Surinamese and Dutch tourists have arrived in Guyana on excursions organised by the Garage De Eenheid Tour Company of Suriname, this particular tour company, owned and operated by V Premnauth has been collaborating with the Tourism Ministry and has been bringing over 100 visitors in Guyana on a weekly basis.
Given this reality and the success of past partnerships, Minister Irfaan Ali has pledged to further cement this and other such relationships, to increase arrivals from Suriname by an additional 500 per month.
Occupancy Boosted
While the visitors are in Guyana, they utilize the services of the smaller hotels which offer attractive rates; these include Kanuku Suites, Signature Inn, Holiday Inn and Brittany’s Hotel.
“We do receive a lot of guests coming from Suriname, as part of the tours organsied by Mr. Premnauth. On an average when these guests are here we operate at 100% occupancy. They do not stay long but while they are here they contribute to about 60% of our occupancy rate. We would however like them to stay longer periods,” explained Ms. Natasha Persaud, owner of Signature Inn, in Queenstown.
She noted too that, the plans to increase the number of visitors arriving from Suriname, to close to 500 on a monthly basis, is indeed a welcome initiative.
Meanwhile, the Manager of Kanuku Suites, Ms. Soma Singh, also lauded the efforts of the Government to partner with the smaller hotel establishments, as this she said will indeed “help to boost and maintain our occupancy rates.”
“We are currently operating at 100% occupanct thanks to the Surinamese. As such we welcome guests from Suriname on a weekly basis; we do our best to give them the most competitive rates to satisfy their needs. We would definitely welcome the additional influx,” Singh continued.
While in Guyana, the Dutch guests also stay at the Holiday Inn and Brittany’s Hotel which are among the smaller hotels in Georgetown.
With many events on the horizon, including GuyExpo 2013, the Rockstone Fish Festival, Diwali and Motor Racing, Sami Yusuf and R- Kelly Concert, it is anticipated that Guyana will see an influx of visitors from Suriname and around the world; the benefits to be derived will be immeasurable not only for Guyana, but every Guyanese in terms of transportation, fuel, hotels, restaurants and generated sales.
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