Search results

The purpose of this paper is to outline the policy directives in Guyana as it relates to community-based tourism and to argue that the development of this niche can only be driven by clear policies which speak to community empowerment and institutional strengthening.

The paper is exploratory in nature and used document analysis as the primary means of data collection.

Community-based tourism presents an opportunity to advance the goals of government to include communities into the economic growth and development agenda. The vision for community-based tourism is community empowerment that develops the industry in line with the needs and aspirations of host communities. However, this cannot be fully realized without the supporting role of government via effective policy development and implementation.

It is anticipated that this research will serve as a valuable reference tool for researchers, policy makers and other relevant bodies with an interest in community-based tourism and the policy implications.

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the strategies and lines of action that should be implemented if 2025 is to be a landmark year for diasporic travel to Guyana.

The primary methodology was that of document analysis drawn on the literature on diaspora tourism in Guyana and the Caribbean and interviews and discussions with relevant experts.

The diaspora market is being increasingly recognised as an important target for Guyana’s tourism industry. Strategies include facilitation of travel from and engagement with more “diaspora” countries; increased and targeted advertising to the diaspora including the promotion of special events; and the development of tourism councils in key diaspora countries.

There are many myths and misconceptions about the diaspora and their contribution to the tourism industry. Synthesising the data that highlight the contribution of this segment along with strategies and lines of action can seek to foster a greater appreciation and understanding of the contribution of the diaspora market.

This paper offers an opportunity for researchers and practitioners to explore the concept of engaging the diaspora as a viable target market in the tourism industry.

This paper aims to outline the key realities which need to be under consideration as Guyana crafts a vision for sustainable tourism development – 2025. These key realities are borne out of the current vision statement, strategic objectives and actions in the National Draft Tourism Policy 2016-2020.

The paper is exploratory in nature and uses document analysis as primary means of data collection.

The achievement of sustainable tourism development is an ideal fit with the tabling of strategic policy documents that seek to guide its implementation. However, these objectives and actions need to be structured and measurable to ensure that monitoring and evaluation can occur.

It is anticipated that this research will serve as a valuable reference tool for researchers, policymakers and other relevant bodies with an interest in strategic action for the achievement of sustainable tourism development.

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to discuss the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Guyana with particular emphasis on the role of cultural support and its possible impact on the tourism industry in the country by 2025.

The paper is based on a literature review of entrepreneurship ecosystems, document analysis of key reports on Guyana and interviews with relevant authorities.

The paper observes that Guyana can focus entrepreneurial efforts on areas of natural comparative advantage, including nature-based tourism and agriculture. However, achieving high-impact entrepreneurship in developing world economies like Guyana requires a strategic approach that is process oriented and which addresses cultural impediments to entrepreneurship.

Encouraging wealth creation and addressing issues of poverty and inequality are but a few of the concerns governments grapple with. Guyana is no different to its geo-political counterparts who are pushing entrepreneurship as a viable means of addressing these concerns. Driven by factors such as setbacks experienced by those with a socialist agenda, the onset of globalisation, the removal of preferential agreements, the opening of trade routes and an emphasis on local economic development, much has been made of entrepreneurship as a panacea of development issues.

This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of entrepreneurship in a developing world context with particular significance for the tourism industry.

Profiles the WHATT theme issue ‘ What innovative strategies are needed to develop tourism in Guyana for 2025?’ with reference to the experiences of the theme theme editors and writing team.

Uses structured questions to enable the theme editors to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting-point, the selection of the writing team and material and the editorial process.

Examines the past and current state of tourism from the standpoint of a number of sector components – community-based tourism, policy, human resources, entrepreneurship among others; assesses the local and global environment impacting upon the development of the industry and explores what the theme editors regard as viable paths to a tourism sector in the year 2025.

This theme issue has a number of practical implications. Scholars and researchers may be inspired to undertake comparative studies of the trajectories of tourism development observed in emergent tourism destinations like Guyana. Those who work in tourism planning and administration will find the retrospections and proposals made of considerable value, even as those, in some cases, provoke lively debate.

This theme issue adds to the growing corpus of research and writing that focuses upon the Caribbean. While the Caribbean as a whole, or individual States, may have been the subject of research, there has been comparatively little written about Guyana as a tourism destination. This gradual increase in scholarly interest may indeed parallel the growth of the tourism industry in Guyana itself. The raft of consultants’ reports is now enriched and diversified in this theme issue that asks the hard questions and makes bold proposals.