Project re-launched for small tourism operators
Stabroek News
December 20, 2003
After a lull in activities, a Small Tourism Enterprise Project (STEP) for Guyana was re-launched on Monday with the constitution of a national working group and the appointment of a co-ordinator.
The re-launch took place in the boardroom of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce by director of the local office of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Dennis Moses in the presence of Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manzoor Nadir; Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Willet Hamilton and members of the working group.
Nadir noted that Guyana would benefit from technical and logistical support including training, marketing and best management practices. He welcomed the project which will be jointly implemented by the OAS and Guyana.
Executive Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Donald Sinclair, has been appointed the local co-ordinator. The working group, which includes representatives from the Regional Chambers of Commerce, the Carnegie School of Home Economics, the Ocean View Hotel and Convention Centre, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce among others, will guide the co-ordinator in meeting the needs of the industry.
The project had its origin in the need to create policy, technical, financial and marketing support services for Caribbean small hotels.
It came out of a 1998 feasibility study on the profitability facing small tourism enterprise projects in the region. It was started with funding by the OAS and USAID.
It is currently in operation in 14 countries.
He noted that Guyana had benefited from OAS technical support projects, the most recent being a community development tourism project in Santa/Aratak on the Kamuni Creek in 2002.
This included the preparation of a tour guide manual, a tourism development plan and marketing which included the creation of a web page.
STEP regional co-ordinator Michael Abraham said the project provided mechanism for small hotels to embrace international standards thr-ough training and by using economies of scale such as taking part in cost-effective marketing typically afforded by only large properties.
He said STEP and the new marketing brand `caribbeanexperiences.com' could help the small hotels to enhance profitability, generate new equipment and job opportunities.
At a meeting last week, he said one such way was in the area of training through an alliance STEP has with the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
STEP is also working in partnership with a number of other regional organisations on other issues, such as the environment, with the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST), and in hotel management with the Canadian Executive Ser-vices Organisation (CESO).