Tourism Authority welcomes reopening of int’l airports

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has welcomed the reopening of the country’s two international airports, but Director Carla James says she expects that the country will mainly see business travellers.

James is quoted by the Department of Public Information (DPI) as saying that there are still some things to be done before it can be deemed “safe” for leisure travel in-country.

The DPI said the GTA is “very satisfied” with the protocols adopted for safe operations of the airports.

According to James, the GTA’s role now is to educate the travelling public; “that’s both the diaspora and other travellers from around the world, about what these protocols are.”

She said health and safety protocols are paramount to reopening the tourism sector and this will be done in phases, with the first phase being the setting up of safe travel corridors/circuits.

“We can’t open all at once, it has to be done in a way that we can manage it, from a health and safety standpoint for the travelling guests,” James is quoted by DPI as stating.

The GTA will be ensuring that hotels which are allowed to operate within the gazetted guidelines are implementing the health protocols recommended by the Ministry of Health and the Authority, and ensuring that those protocols work efficiently.

“This is our new norm; there is no way going around this. There is no way going back to anything before so we have to learn to operate in this new environment and do it well so that we can keep the travelling public and local communities safe,” James stated.

The GTA will be focusing on inspection activities to determine if businesses have implemented the recommended protocols before they can be identified as safe to host guests.

However, the Authority stands ready to help these businesses develop protocols and train staff, among other measures, to meet the requisite standard.

The GTA has a dedicated webpage which provides updates for travellers about what is happening in Guyana. Businesses seeking information and support from the GTA, can contact the Travel Industry Development Division on telephone number 219-0055.