President Irfaan Ali says works are moving along to design an annual programme aimed at premiering Guyana as the ideal entertainment and sports tourism spot.
The Head of State shared this sentiment at an event held on Tuesday afternoon while commending the Ministries of Tourism and Culture, Youth and Sport on the successful hosting of the Cricket Carnival.
Guyana will be hosting the finals and semi-finals for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for three years. The government has incorporated other activities during this time to market Guyana and garner revenue.
“We are working in the next few weeks to design an annual programme to position Guyana as a premier destination for entertainment and sports tourism in the region,” he said.
“We are working on modifying our horse racing to make it a premier regional event attracting international participation, working in the motor racing industry. I have already asked a team to reach out to the world boxing council to see how we can become a venue for world boxing council events,” the Head of State added.
While President Ali acknowledged this vision is indeed “not an easy road,” he highlighted it would position Guyana as a country beyond oil and gas- which he notes is critical.
“I’ve said it before what oil and gas do is give us the revenue to build the infrastructure to support the advancement, broadening of the economy.”
Guyana has generated billions of dollars in revenue from its oil and gas interests. Despite this, the PPP/C government has continuously stressed that it will not use the money in a manner that is not beneficial and sustainable in the long term.
The government has already been using these revenues to invest heavily in education, health, and infrastructure and build its human resources.
