Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 27, 2011 Letters
Dear Editor,
I am a Guyanese-born Canadian who has recently returned from Guyana after a two week vacation. It had been several years since my last visit. Though significant work remains to be done, I was admittedly pleased with notable improvements within the country, including road infrastructure, education initiatives, and increasing awareness of mental health needs. Within days of arriving in Guyana, however, my nostalgia was abruptly shattered.
Almost immediately upon my arrival, I decided that I wanted to visit one of Guyana’s most unique and natural beauties- Kaieteur Falls- as I had never visited this wonder before. I contacted at least two companies that organize day trips to the falls to inquire about dates, prices, and so forth and was aghast to be consistently told that the cost for these trips is significantly higher for tourists than it is for Guyanese citizens.
As I am no longer a Guyanese citizen, this increased price, therefore, applied to me. I expressed surprise to my family and was further surprised that they were well aware of this double standard.
I pondered for several days on what basis it made sense to have different (and more expensive) tour costs for non-Guyanese compared to Guyanese. I must admit, I am yet to brainstorm some rationale for this egregious counterintuitive to promoting tourism in Guyana.
Since my emigration from Guyana, I have generally kept abreast with local news and have repeatedly read that the Ministry of Tourism is embarking on various initiatives to attract tourists to Guyana and to provide them with an experience that fosters repeat visits to this beautiful country, which translates into an influx of foreign currency into the economy.
I am now skeptical that all of this is “just talk” from the Ministry and there is little in the way of action to follow their flowery proposals. I am not a tourism expert; however, I am a consumer. I am certain that I speak for other tourists in expressing dismay that there is a higher cost for tours if one is travelling as a tourist than as a Guyanese citizen.
My outrage was not based on money; after all, I was eager enough to visit Kaieteur Falls that I booked my trip nonetheless with Air Services Limited, which operates out of Ogle Airport.
My outrage, instead, was based on principle.
I have traveled within North America and Europe to cities that have made leaps and bounds in attracting tourists. In none of these cities (and my recent Google search supports this) is there a higher cost of tours for tourists compared to locals.
Most typically, there is no difference in cost for tourists and locals. In fact, in some cities, such as Toronto, tourists are offered competitive rates and tour packages to not only increase the chances of purchasing one of these packages but to also increase the chance that they will feel welcomed to the city and want to travel to it again.
I also need to comment on the outstandingly poor quality of service provided by Air Services Limited. For my trip, which was scheduled to depart at 1:00pm, I was told to check in at 12:00pm. I followed their instructions and arrived at Ogle at 12:00pm.
At 1:00pm, when other passengers and I were not called from the departure lounge, I proceeded to make an inquiry regarding departure time. I was told by one of the staff that our flight will depart at 1:15pm due to an unspecified delay.
At 1:30pm, we had still not departed Ogle and none of the many staff of Air Services provided us with an update. We were simply left to wait in the lounge without any information. I made yet another inquiry and was told that we were leaving in 5 minutes because seats were being put into the airplane. To my chagrin, we did not depart Ogle until 2:05pm, 65 minutes after our intended departure time!
During this time, not a single explanation or apology was provided to us. Ironically, the motto for Air Services Limited is, “Serious about Service.” Perhaps their logo should read, “Serious about Bad Service.” I have to admit, thought, that Kaieteur Falls was breathtaking.
After my trip to Kaieteur Falls, I continued to ponder the issue of higher costs for tourists. I found myself unable to let go of my annoyance because it seemed to me that such double standard in pricing would only hinder rather than foster tourism. I realized, however, that I also felt cheated.
That I am not a Guyanese citizen should not have resulted in an additional cost to the tour service that took me to Kaieteur Falls and so why was I charged more than my Guyanese family members who accompanied me on this trip? I had absolutely no opposition to paying the fair price for such a trip.
My opposition lies with feeling as though I had been somehow “duped” by the higher cost I was required to pay. I contacted Air Services Limited and enquired about the reason for different prices. I was rudely met with, “I don’t know.” I further asked if there is a manager or supervisor with whom I can speak about it and was again met with, “I don’t know.”
A reasonable explanation was all that I sought and I would have been satisfied if I had been given some rationale for the increased cost I was required to pay. Is it unreasonable for a consumer to question the cost of a service? Certainly not! Instead, I was left quite unsettled and displeased with the lack of information provided by Air Services Limited.
I was left to wonder if the Ministry of Tourism and, specifically, the Minister of Tourism, Mr. Manniram Prashad, is aware that tour services are engaging in principles that seem to blatantly counter an agenda to attract tourists. I was also left to wonder whether the Minister and the Ministry of Tourism support or abhor such treatment of tourists.
Minister Prashad, if you were unaware of such mistreatment of tourists, you are being made aware of it now. It is useless to develop tourism initiatives if the tour services do not equally embrace the importance of treating tourists well enough to engender repeat customers.
There is a fundamental flaw in attempting to promote tourism by overcharging tourists.
While it may be tempting to demand a higher cost from tourists, it does not require a doctorate in economics or business for one to recognize that this short term gain will come at the high price of a long-term loss.
Tourists to Guyana spend foreign currency which boosts the economy. Thus, the goal of any service or business which caters to tourists should aim to maximize the chance that a tourist will want to spend more money during a visit and subsequently re-visit Guyana.
I hope this letter is received by the Ministry of Tourism and by the Minister of Tourism as the constructive criticism it was intended as. I also feel compelled to reinforce that my issue is about the principle not about the money. It would be most unfortunate if the inherent message of this letter is misconstrued as a complaint about cost.
I end as I began. I am greatly pleased that I decided to visit Guyana. It is a beautiful country with immense potential and, for the most part, my vacation was as relaxing as I had intended. Mismanagement, flawed principles, and ignorant philosophy, however, will be the Achilles heel unless issues are addressed.
While the issue in question here may seem minor in the larger picture, it represents the kind of misguided thinking and lack of accountability that can hinder progress.
Name and Address Withheld
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
Apr 19, 2024
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