Wednesday, January 10, 2007

I support Mr. Christopher Ram who has given some highlights of the global
scourge of casino gambling in his letter captioned "Casinos are widely
favoured by drug interests as laundries" (07.01.06). If the intention to
introduce casino gambling to Guyana is the result of the president's
economic plan for the boosting of tourism then he needs to go to the
following web address for more on the malaise and corruption that he seeks
to legalise: The US $445 billion spent annually on tourism can have Guyana
included as a destination of prominence to those who spend lavishly on
adventure and ecotourism, the kind that Guyana is naturally blessed with
perpetually, and needs to develop, at 5-star rating. Casino gambling will
not contribute to the prosperity of Guyana and those who are in constant
fear for their lives from the gun-toting criminal elements so prevalent in
the society today. Eco-tourism should be the spine of economic activity
since the natural beauty of the country and the fact that we are unique as
the only "English speaking" country on the block and the gateway to the
continent is begging for attention. Hospitality, the fundamentals of which
should be part of the curriculum for secondary schools and UG should be the
first step in training for a world class act of the tourist trade, since the
staffing is the most important aspect of any enterprise, but moreso the
hospitality industry. I have stayed at most of the hotels on my many visits
to my homeland, including the one referred to by the President as
"atrocious". What I feel he meant was the quality of service and this is the
case of most if not all the hotels and inns. Tourists, besides comfort and
rest and recreation, expect to be pampered, and the only way this can be
given to them is by the teaching of the rudiments of the hospitality trade
to the staff, and that includes the shift manager down to the plumber and
the landscape team. Essential too are the maids and laundry staff, in
general all personnel involved with the care and safety of their guests and
their personal belongings. Along with this comes intelligent and courteous
responses to the needs of the guests which can be demanding but at the same
time very rewarding not only for the owner/s of the establishment but for
the staff as well, whose honesty is paramount to the overall success of the
daily and sometimes hectic running of such an enterprise. Once I stayed at a
hotel in Georgetown (name given) where there were Brazilian guests and I
happened to be in the office of the receptionist where this Brazilian guest
was telling the receptionist that she locked herself out of her room and
would like a pass key to get in. The receptionist whose English was barely
up to 3rd standard was listening as though she understood Portuguese which
was being spoken to her and was responding with "yes" all the time until I
told her what the woman was saying to her. My brother his wife and I ran the
hotel, restaurant and bar in Boa Vista called Lua Nova, New Moon, in 79. I
left after his tragic death in the same year.