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Sotic 2026 Ministerial Panel Discussion – Guyana Identifies Itself as a Regional Tourism Development Partner – HGPTV – Guyana’s Nightly News and Entertainment Channel

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Sotic 2026 Ministerial Panel Discussion – Guyana Identifies Itself as a Regional Tourism Development Partner – HGPTV – Guyana’s Nightly News and Entertainment Channel

By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |

KINGSTON, GEORGETOWN — Day two of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC) 2026 placed regional integration and market competitiveness at center stage during a high-level Ministerial Panel discussion titled: “Competing for Tomorrow: Ministerial Priorities for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Caribbean Tourism.”

The panel brought together tourism ministers and policy leaders from Guyana, Saint Lucia, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), and the Turks and Caicos Islands to examine the strategic interventions Caribbean destinations need to adapt, compete, and thrive over the coming decade.

Addressing the central question of what single element the Caribbean must resolve to unlock sustainable growth, Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Susan Rodrigues identified regional air and maritime connectivity as the indispensable foundation. Without seamless movement across member territories, Rodrigues warned, the region cannot achieve its collective goals for economic scale, inclusive community benefits, or climate resilience.

Unlocking Growth Through Seamless Regional Connectivity

Challenged to identify the single highest-priority bottleneck hindering Caribbean tourism expansion, Minister Rodrigues emphasized that marketing and product diversification will fall short if visitors and residents face fragmented, cost-prohibitive travel routes:

  • The Connectivity Imperative: Reliable intra-regional transport networks are essential to make multi-destination itineraries practical and spread visitors beyond traditional gateway hubs.
  • Fueling Community-Based Tourism: Rodrigues noted that connectivity directly enables community-based and eco-tourism enterprises, ensuring rural, riverain, and indigenous communities capture real visitor spend that they reinvest in local economies.

“We have to get connectivity right as a region for us to really grow and achieve the objectives that we have all been discussing,” Minister Rodrigues stated during the panel exchange.

Shared Strengths: Partnering to Capture Global Events

Addressing the tension between national competition and regional cooperation, Rodrigues argued that the Caribbean tourism product is strengthened far more by shared identity than by zero-sum competition:

  • Joint Event Bidding: Regional governments should align their marketing, logistics, and hospitality capacities to jointly attract and host large-scale global conferences, sporting tournaments, and cultural expositions.
  • Collective Brand Power: By packaging diverse offerings—combining the pristine rainforests, safaris, and eco-lodges of mainland South America with the classic marine and beach attractions of the island archipelagos—the region creates a far more compelling global draw.

“A lot of the projects we would like to work with our Caribbean regional partners to scale up, to go after the big events,” Rodrigues highlighted.

Tourism and Agriculture as Structural Buffers Against Shocks

Detailing Guyana’s macroeconomic strategy within the Caribbean context, Minister Rodrigues outlined how the administration is deploying oil and gas revenues to systematically insulate the wider economy:

  • Hedging Volatility: Guyana’s rapid expansion in oil production is intentionally paired with aggressive investments in non-oil productive sectors—specifically tourism and agriculture—to protect against global geopolitical conflicts, price swings, and commodity cycles.
  • Sustained Diversification: Building durable, competitive tourism assets ensures that national wealth generation remains resilient, sustainable, and capable of generating employment well beyond the lifecycle of extractive resources.

Regional Consensus: Preserving Culture and Elevating Communities

Ministers representing Saint Lucia, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos echoed the call for structural solidarity:

  • Community Reinvestment: Panelists agreed that tourism receipts must be deliberately channeled back into domestic communities to support cultural preservation, youth entrepreneurship, and local heritage assets.
  • Unified Advocacy: Ministers affirmed that joint aviation policies, harmonized border protocols, and collective sustainability frameworks remain the only effective path for the Caribbean to maintain its competitive edge on the global stage.

    • Source: HGP Nightly News / HGPTV

    “Ahyuh gon die right here” – Canje businessman recalls armed robbery

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    “Ahyuh gon die right here” – Canje businessman recalls armed robbery

    A 57-year-old Canje businessman and his family are left traumatised after they were robbed at gunpoint of approximately $3M by masked men on Saturday night.

    Jagnarine Persaud, known as “Balram,” said the robbery occurred around 19:30 hours while he was attending to business at his premises.

    Persaud explained that he was in the cashier area on the lower flat of the building, while his five-year-old son was in the yard. Several customers were also outside the business at the time.

    He said the men entered the establishment, one armed with a handgun, while the other two carried a baseball bat and a cutlass.

    According to Persaud, the men demanded all the money he had. They then forcibly opened a drawer and removed the cash from the day’s sales. However, after taking the money, the bandits demanded more. Persaud told them he had nothing else to give, prompting one of the men to threaten his life.

    “They said, ‘Well, you got to dead, I gone shoot you,’” the businessman recounted.

    Fearing that he would be killed, Persaud handed over the keys to another drawer containing a large sum of cash.

    The men reportedly collected the money before escaping in a waiting dark-grey car.

    Persaud described the ordeal as traumatic for himself and his family, noting that the bandits repeatedly threatened to kill him.

    “Thank God I give them the money because they said, ‘Ahyuh gone die right here,’” he said.

    He also disclosed that he had applied for a licensed firearm approximately six years ago, but the application was not approved.

    Police have since confirmed that no shots were fired and no injuries were reported during the incident.

    Investigators have obtained CCTV footage, which is being reviewed as they continue their probe into the robbery.

    Source: NEW ROOMS SITE

    Guyana stresses global action to protect women from digital violence

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    Guyana stresses global action to protect women from digital violence
    October 11, 2026

    Guyana is calling for stronger international action to combat digital violence against women, with Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud urging the global community to establish clear accountability measures and strengthen protections for women participating in public life.

    Minister Persaud made the call on October 5, 2026, when she addressed the Forum of Women Parliamentarians at the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Arusha, Tanzania.

    Dr Persaud advocated a global approach that goes beyond women’s representation in leadership to ensure they exercise meaningful influence over decisions affecting peace, security, economic development, and resource allocation.

    Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud

    She warned that the rapid expansion of digital abuse, including artificial intelligence-generated sexual images and coordinated online harassment, poses a growing threat to women’s participation in politics and other areas of public service.

    “Digital violence threatens that promise,” she stated, referring to the principle that every girl should be able to aspire to public service without fear.

    She explained that manipulated images and online attacks can damage reputations, undermine confidence and force women to reconsider their involvement in public life.

    Drawing on her own experience with digital violence, the minister challenged the expectation that women should limit their visibility to protect themselves from online abuse, explaining that the digital environment allows harmful content to spread rapidly across borders, while anonymity can shield perpetrators and algorithms can amplify humiliation.

    In addressing these challenges, Minister Persaud pointed to Guyana’s legislative framework, including its cybercrime legislation and the Family Violence Act 2024, as part of the country’s response to abuse and violence.

    She outlined key provisions of the Family Violence Act, including the integration of civil and criminal measures, requirements for police to act when reports are made, protections allowing victims and their children to remain in their homes, and defined timelines for reporting and initiating charges.

    The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security continues to provide training, psychosocial assistance and shelter services to support persons affected by violence.

    Guyana is preparing for a comprehensive national conversation on digital violence during the annual 16 Days of Activism campaign, reinforcing the need to address emerging forms of abuse through public awareness, prevention and accountability.

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    Source: Department of Public Information (DPI)