Guyana and Mozambique Advocate Tourism as Key Driver for Economic Transformation
Guyana and Mozambique presented tourism as a crucial pillar for economic diversification at the Global Tourism Forum Annual Meeting in Brussels. Hon. Susan Rodrigues, Guyana’s Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, highlighted her country as an 'emerging destination' in South America, reporting a 22% increase in visitors in 2025 compared to 2024, totaling 453,000. Since oil production began in 2019, revenues have been reinvested into infrastructure, healthcare, education, and connectivity, with tourism identified as a strategic growth area. Nine international-branded hotels and 12 new airlines have entered Guyana in the past six years. Rodrigues emphasized that growth must benefit local communities, noting that indigenous communities manage their own ecotourism experiences and receive 15% of a US$750 million contract with Hess Corporation, aiding their sustainability plans. Similarly, H.E. Fredson Victor Bravo Bacar, Mozambique’s Secretary of State for Tourism, outlined a strategy to diversify beyond ...