Accelerate marriage tourism amendment...

ourism, Carla Chandra announced that draft legislation esigned to effect the requisite reduction of the residency quirement has been completed and has been passed to the ttorney General’s Chambers for scrutiny. Chandra told the unch event that it was likely that new legislation could be in ace by year end. Responding to the announcement, Gouveia told Stabroek usiness that he believed that it was “one of the most meaningful evelopments in the context of the forward movement of the urism industry in a number of years. Once the legislation is assed I foresee the number of couples not resident in Guyana anting to be married here. It could be a game-changer for visir arrivals,” the businessman told Stabroek Business. But Gouveia told Stabroek Business that it was his hope that e process towards the passage of corrective legislation “does ot take as long as the lobbying process has done. Frankly, it’s bout time we get over this hurdle”, Gouveia said. The Roraima irways boss told Stabroek Business that he believes that the rospect of an increased level of wedding tourism here could so trigger an infusion of investment in the country’s tourism frastructure. “We could, for example, witness investments in the upgrading f interior resorts that might be potential locations for wedding vents. Roraima Airways’ own Arrow Point Resort is integrated to the company’s tourism offerings and aspects of the Wedding xpo programme are staged there. Meanwhile, Gouveia says that while next month’s 10th nnual Wedding Expo will not be directly impacted by the nnouncement of the change in the law he believed that it was, onetheless“, an upbeat announcement for the sector as a whole at will create an uplifting environment at this year’s Wedding xpo. The various businesses that will be participating in this ear’s Wedding Expo are now being given something towards hich they can work in terms of anticipating the likelihood of ore business in the sector next year and beyond,” Gouveia said. Gouveia acknowledges, however, that the effort to raise the rofile of wedding tourism in Guyana to match the level of sucess realized elsewhere in the region has to go beyond legislative hange.

“Apart from the convenience that will be created by the hange in the law we are going to need an infrastructural akeover in several areas. The service sector including hotels nd restaurants are going to have to raise their game and public rvices are going to have to get with it as far as service quality concerned, otherwise people will simply go elsewhere in the aribbean to destinations with a more pleasing track record”, he aid.