Tourism bodies sign MoU
The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding which formalises their partnership in the sector.
In a ceremony at the OMG Restaurant in Georgetown, the two organisations inked the agreement, according to a statement from the Department of Public Information (DPI).
GTA’s Director, Brian Mullis said “THAG and GTA have been partnering for a while but it has never been formal”. He added that “Private Public Partnerships in tourism are the norm in matured tourism destinations in the world so we want to make sure that that’s a norm here in Guyana.”
The GTA Director said that the MoU has been structured based on each entity’s mandates and strengths, and has clear defined activities on which they would be collaborating.
President of THAG, Mitra Ramkumar, said, according to DPI “This is an area I think that can be used across Guyana, of how the authority can work with the private sector in the interest of building the industry. This is not - if it’s THAG or GTA - the focus is building our tourism industry, a sustainable tourism industry.”
The two tourism bodies also used the forum to announce the launch of Guyana Restaurant Week (GRW) which forms part of the calendar of activities for Tourism Awareness Month.
During the week that begins November 23 and runs until December 2, patrons will have the opportunity to “eat, explore and repeat” at any of the 19 restaurants taking part.
GRW’s Chairperson, Kevin Daby said that culinary tourism has become increasingly popular around the world and provides a challenge for local restaurants to be innovative with their menus.