Declaring that Guyana possesses the natural attributes needed for a robust health and wellness tourism sector, President Dr. Irfaan Ali called on local tourism stakeholders to work with his government to develop the lucrative venture.
Health and wellness tourism, the Head of State said, is a high-growth sector with a US$4.3 trillion market. A majority of the consumers are from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Asia is, however, capitalising on this market having positioned themselves as the “most natural healing spots” based on their culture and traditions, the President said.
Still, he believes Guyana has much of what makes a good health and wellness tourism sector with the country’s green spaces and culture of the Indigenous people.
“We have all the natural attributes to be competitive in this sector (but) we don’t have the infrastructure and we have not created the brand,” President Ali said during his address to stakeholders in the tourism sector at a dinner organised by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) on Saturday night.
He added that if leveraged carefully, Guyana could become a major global player in health and wellness tourism.
Developing the wellness tourism sector would be an integral part of developing tourism as a major income earner for Guyana and Dr. Ali said his government is keen on doing just that. The necessary policy orientation, he said, will be crafted.
And while the government outlines the policy framework that facilitates the growth of the sector, he said private sector stakeholders must work with the government and among themselves to bring this vision to fruition in a strong and sustainable manner.
“People need to come together in consortia.
“THAG needs to group membership… if you have 50 members interested in health and wellness, bring them together,” Dr. Ali pleaded before the gathering.
According to him, there are too many ripe opportunities in Guyana and working together must become the norm.
