The Guyana Tourism Authority and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana Sign Collaboration Agreement
Georgetown, Guyana (May 6, 2020): The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) on May 4, 2020, signed an agreement for the development of an industry database and the enhancement of training and capacity building initiatives for sector members.
This initiative is executed under the second action item of the 2019 THAG-GTA MoU with the aim of supporting and empowering Guyana’s Tourism Industry. Its core objectives focus on increasing financial sustainability, strengthening the approach to training and capacity building and improving data collection and aggregation.
In areas of communications, the GTA and THAG will share annual strategies and work plans and seek to foster alignment between the organisations. Through this agreement, providers within the database will be afforded the opportunity to benefit from the services available throughout the network.
The GTA’s objective is to make it easier for all industry to be registered and become licensed in accordance with the four Regulations under the GTA Act of 2002. The Authority will afford all industry operators in compliance with the GTA regulations to be granted a basic listing on their website.
THAG members will be identified by a membership icon on the GTA’s website listing. This benefit is guaranteed as long as the member is registered with or licensed by the GTA. THAG will also provide its members and the travel trade with incentives to get licensed by the GTA and join THAG respectively. The incentives include a 10% and 20% reduction to GTA’s fees for training and licensing fees respectively. However, due to COVID-19 the GTA has suspended all training and licensing fees until September 2020 to support the industry as it prepares for recovery.
In areas of training and capacity-building, GTA and THAG will work together to increase the number of training opportunities and the number of licensed operators on an annual basis through cost-sharing and guided by the GTA’s annual training plan. Through this agreement, the partners will use opportunities presented to develop or secure curricula and implement train the trainer programming as may be required by the industry.
THAG and GTA will jointly own the database that will benefit the sector which will see efforts to promote their business and build human capacity through training.
The collaboration agreement will serve for a year at which time it will be reviewed and renewed for another year.
About the Guyana Tourism Authority: The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is a semi-autonomous governmental organisation responsible for developing and promoting sustainable tourism in Guyana through collaboration with sister agencies and the tourism private sector in order to maximise local socio-economic and conservation outcomes and improve the visitors’  experience.  The  GTA  is  focused  on  Guyana  becoming  recognised  locally  and internationally as a premier destination for protecting its natural and cultural heritage, providing authentic experiences, and maximising local economic benefits.
About the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana: THAG is an umbrella body of all Tourism related entities in Guyana. Members include hoteliers, resort owners, tour operators, travel agents, restaurants, jewellery and craft shops, transportation services among others. This association was formed 28 years ago by a small group of five persons. THAG is also a member of the Caribbean Hotel Association.
Carla James – Director, Guyana Tourism Authority
Mitra Ramkumar – President, Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana