Historic OAS tourism congress for next week

DPI, Guyana, Friday, March 16, 2018

Guyana is set to achieve another first as it prepares to host the Organisation of American States’ (OAS) Twenty Fourth Inter-American Congress of Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Tourism, on March 21-22.

The congress which will be hosted at the Guyana Marriott Hotel will see attendance by several international and regional tourism officials.

Director General of Tourism and National Coordinator of the OAS XXIV Congress, Donald Sinclair Donald Sinclair told media operatives today at a press conference in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Boardroom that, “The response to this congress has been overwhelming.” “The OAS has 34-member countries. So far, we have 25 of the 34 that have confirmed that they will attend. What I am hearing from the OAS authorities that this is perhaps the best-attended congress. If that turns out to be so, then Guyana deserves the kudos,” he said.

OAS Conference Specialist Luiz Coimbra acknowledged the efforts of the Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin in organising the conference. “The country has been working in a way that makes it ready to receive heads of delegations of all the countries of the Americas to discuss this multilateral issue,” he noted.

Coimbra also underscored the importance of the collaboration which will arise from the congress of tourism stakeholders. He said, “Nobody can do tourism on its own. No country can solve the tourism question on its own. We all need to be connected, not only because the problems are common but also because each country can offer complimentary things and we are stronger if we have common standards for tourism.”

The OAS representative added that the congress is the culmination of an extended period of work between the organisation and local representatives.

“This is a process which has been developed for a while. One of the main issues we will deal with is the creation of common standards. Standards that are comparable where tourists can come to any country in the Americas and be assured that he/she will be received with more or less comparable standards, comparable infrastructure, opportunities, hotels….” Coimbra further added.

Meanwhile OAS Representative in Guyana Ambassador Jean-Ricot Dormeus congratulated the government for the commitment shown to the growth and development of the tourism sector.

“I know you have a lot of sectors fueling the economy, the six sisters and now you have oil, but tourism has a lot of potential and I am glad that the government is taking that to another level. With all the Ministers of Tourism in Georgetown to discuss strategies and ways to connect to push the sector, I think Guyana will do well,” Dormeus said.

The two-day congress will be held under the theme “Connecting the Americas through Sustainable Tourism.”  It will be preceded by a tourism exhibition organised by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana on March 20. President David Granger will also host the visiting dignitaries to a reception on March 21

The conference is being managed by OAS conference specialist Brazilian Luiz Coimbra.

 

By: Kidackie Amsterdam