Clean country can boost tourism, British envoy says; calls garbage on seawall disgraceful

Guyana can learn valuable lessons from the Scottish tourism sector, local tourism stakeholders were told by British High Commissioner to Guyana Greg Quinn.

High Commissioner Quinn made the plug during a dinner hosted by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) last Friday.

Making a stern advocacy for a clean and tourist friendly Georgetown, Quinn said Guyanese need to recognize the importance of cleanliness in boosting tourism.

He said scenes like garbage along the seawall is “disgraceful.”

“In this modern world, the protection of our ecosystems and natural habitat are high on everyone’s agenda. Guyana is already rightly seen as leader in this area, but – and there is always a but – I drive along the sea walls road every Monday morning and the scenes which greet me along the seawall road are frankly disgraceful,” he stated.

Quinn, during his address, said he believes Guyana can gain a lot from following the example set by the highly sustainable Scottish tourism sector and its systems of development through the use oil and gas proceeds.

“On the forefront of the Scottish government’s approach to the visitor economy is delivering a successful tourism sector enhancing Scotland’s international reputation and looking towards opportunities in the future.

“All of these things reflect the nation that we want to be – one that looks outwards and to the future and makes the very best of our many assets,” Quinn said as he read from a speech prepared by current Scottish secretary of Tourism Fiona Hyslop.

“Once again may I respectfully suggest that those are aspirations that should be uniquely applied to Guyana. The success of any tourism industry is not in the hands of Government alone, the sector only thrives through the efforts of tourism business, meaning all of you in this room,” Quinn went on to say to business owners present.

Before concluding his address, Quinn told local tourism sector stakeholders that tourism is not an industry that benefits from modesty.

He believes that Guyana must seek to provide experiences that satisfy tourist’s desire for high class luxury just as much as their desire for adventure.

He believes too that the development and international recognition of the Guyana hinges on its tourism experience, stating that an abundance of resources in any nation counts for nothing if the tourism sector is not managed sustainably and effectively.