DAVOS, Switzerland, CMC – Suriname says it does not want its economic future to depend solely on oil revenues, but regards sustainable tourism as a strategic pillar for the development of the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
“Our country may be small, with approximately 600,000 inhabitants, but we have an exceptional amount to offer,” Vice President Gregory Rusland told a panel discussion at the World Tourism Forum here.
He told the panel that sustainable tourism is an essential alternative for the period when offshore oil revenues will decline and that Suriname is open to anyone who wants to invest in the tourism sector.
He said Suriname is one of the three carbon-negative countries in the world and that the country is open to international cooperation and investments in tourism that respect nature, culture, and local communities.
“Even in Africa, you don’t see some cultures as we do anymore,” Russia said, as he presented Suriname to the international audience as a unique and authentic country with 93 per cent pristine rainforest, indigenous and tribal communities that have preserved their cultures, and a society in which a synagogue and a mosque exist peacefully side by side.
He said that to maintain this unique position, Suriname does not favour mass tourism but would focus on higher-quality tourism, where visitors are willing to pay more for an authentic experience, tranquility, nature, and ecotourism.
“It is important that Suriname does not lose its current status,” he said, with the panel widely in agreement that sustainable tourism is a shared responsibility of governments, entrepreneurs, travelers, and local communities.
Rusland said that sustainable tourism is often wrongly perceived as expensive, while it actually creates value when travelers also give back to the places they visit.
“The Surinamese government is committed to supporting everything necessary to develop sustainable tourism further,” Rusland said.
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