come at a time when the housing sector is showing signs of continued growth

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With a high-end market in focus, the Government is gearing to direct greater attention to the tourism sector. Among the focal areas are eco-, nature and adventure tourism, which according to Minister with responsibility for Tourism, Irfaan Ali, are areas that normally attract tourists with the resources who operate at a very high level.“We are focusing heavily on tourism…we are going to put as much energy into tourism and we are working closely with the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG),” Ali related during a recent business forum at the International Conference Centre.He revealed that Government’s objective is to ensure that Guyana’s tourism sector competes with the rest of the Caribbean, and hopefully within three to five years, try to overtake what is happening in the regional sphere.A focus on the high-end market is strategic since, according to Ali, that market controls most of the spending in the tourism sector.Speaking to the existing tourism situation, he disclosed that for this year there has already been an 18.9 per cent increase in arrivals. He added that in August alone, when the ‘Rediscover Home’ Campaign was launched, there was a marked increase in arrivals when figures are compared to last year.“We have seen tremendous improvement in occupancy of rooms and we have also seen a shift in terms of the numbers coming out from different regions,” he related.The United States, according to Ali, accounted for some 57 per cent of tourists, while those visiting from Canada were just about 14 per cent. Estimates from the THAG and Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) reveal that, in Georgetown, there was a near 70 per cent occupancy rate thus far for this year, while in the Rupununi there was a perhaps 90 per cent occupancy rate.The occupancy rate, the Tourism Minister said, reflects an increase in room usage in Guyana from 750 in 2007 to 2,616 in 2012. This development, he opined, is poised for improvement with the coming on stream of the new Marriott Hotel, which, according to him, will add tremendously to the tourism industry.Ali also eagerly pointed to the Ogle International Airport, which he regarded as one of the showpieces of Guyana’s expansion and development, even as he highlighted that it is one of the busiest in the Caribbean.“The last figures suggest that there is flight movement every four minutes and that has since improved tremendously…we have even seen an addition to the fleet,” he added. This, according to the Minister, is coupled with the introduction of private jets for the first time in Guyana.These measures, aimed at bolstering tourism, come at a time when the housing sector is showing signs of continued growth, said Ali, who also holds responsibility for the Ministry of Housing and Water. He pointed out that Government has its sights on about 30,000 house lots, which will be targeted for distribution over the next three to four years.“This, as you know, will also add to economic growth and expansion,” Ali assured, noting that despite the fact that the global recession had impacted most countries of the world, Guyana was able to sustain economic growth of approximately five per cent over the last five years.