Tourism body says crime wave affecting potential visitors
Urges recognition that country is in crisis
Stabroek News
October 11, 2002
The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) says that the biggest factor affecting the decision of visitors to come to Guyana is fear for their personal safety.
"Thousands of potential visitors, including overseas-based Guyanese, business persons from the region and further afield and leisure travellers have cancelled their trips, robbing Guyana of a critical source of foreign exchange", the organisation said in an advertisement in yesterday's edition of Stabroek News.
Tourism, THAG said, is one of the largest sources of foreign exchange to the Guyana economy and "if the current situation continues indefinitely that source of revenue will be reduced to a trickle and then stop altogether."
THAG joined the list of individuals, organisations, companies and groups which have expressed concern about the current crime wave crippling people's livelihood.
The association is calling on the government and opposition parties to fully and unequivocally commit to and support the joint consultation process initiated by the Social Partners.
THAG declared that the country was in crisis and "only full recognition on the part of the Government of Guyana of this fact, and a resulting full commitment to dealing with this crisis will set the country on the path to recovery."
Noting that this year has been one of the most difficult in the history of many tourism-related businesses in Guyana, THAG said that "no half measures and platitudes will do. This is a crisis and must be recognised and dealt with as one."
The tourism body said that this fear for personal safety was also reflected in the feelings of Guyanese whose day-to-day lives have been significantly and negatively affected by the increasing levels of violence and other criminal activity in the Guyanese society.
Among the other organisations which issued whole page advertisements calling for joint initiatives between the government and the opposition political parties to deal with the crisis which erupted after five prisoners escaped on February 23 were the Forest Products Association of Guyana and the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana. On Thursday, sections of the local business community called for a shutdown of the country through a number of advertisements to protest the crime wave. Whole page advertisements were also placed by a newly-formed group, Unite Guyana, which described itself as non-partisan and non-political.