THAG President pleads with police to keep seawalls safe

BRINGING the curtains down on Tourism Awareness Month, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), in collaboration with the Seawalls and Beyond group, on Monday unveiled a public awareness mural at the junction of Camp Road and the Seawall Road with a special appeal made to the Guyana Police Force to keep the seawalls a safe space for families.

Speaking at the brief ceremony, Mitra Ramkumar, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), said that the seawall is considered to be one of Guyana’s most popular tourism hotspots and, as such, all stakeholders should play a prominent role in preserving, securing and beautifying the area.

“This area here is our premier real estate as a country, less a tourism place. We would want to see, as the tourism private sector, a situation where our guest are able to come out here freely,” Ramkumar said.
He urged the Guyana Police Force to be rigid in their patrolling of the area.

“I have an appeal here to our security personnel; we need some more enforcement and we need some more policing in ensuring that this area is kept safe. We need a patrol every five or ten minutes passing through this area so we don’t have the undesirable; the place must be properly lit so it is safe for families to come out and enjoy this space freely.”

Additionally, Ramkumar stated that Guyanese also need an attitude change as it relates to abiding with simple traffic regulations and littering when traversing the area.
“Guyanese need to be law abiding; tourists would actually want to come to a place where there is law and order and there is adherence to law and order. Tourism should be used as a catalyst for positive change,” the THAG President emphasised.

Ramkumar noted that the goal is to make visitors feel welcome and safe during their time in Guyana.
“We would want to be able to have tourist come out of there hotel rooms and take a walk on the beach at the back of Marriott, on the bandstand or to even have a jog along the seawall.
“The only way that can be done is if it’s safe, clean and beautified; so this project has really touched on all of those.”

Meanwhile, Kamrul Baksh, Manager of Product Development within the Travel Industry Development Division (TIDD) of the GTA said, “The mural will add to the overall appeal to the aesthetic for the seawall and, more so, the branding of destination Guyana will be catapulted from this mural.”