Guatemala City, Guatemala - January 10, 2025 The director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), Harris Whitbeck, asserts that his background as a journalist and the foundation of communication are key to leading the tourism sector in his country, especially after concluding 2024 with a record number of international visitors. CAMERA: MARIANO MACZ STATEMENTS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE GUATEMALAN TOURISM INSTITUTE (INGUAT), HARRIS WHITBECK: Well, sometimes I think I had it very easy before, but the sense of purpose that I'm experiencing on a personal level now is something I haven't felt in a long time. So for me it has been very rewarding. I feel that this has been a very natural extension of my entire career as a communicator, because tourism is also about communicating. And it is not only communicating to sell the country, but it is also communicating to manage support with other ministries, to manage with the different sectors of the country. So, in the long run, having a very good base as a communicator has given me a very valuable tool to be in this position. And it has been very interesting because I still consider myself a journalist, my soul is a journalist. It has been very interesting to see from the inside what I used to see from the outside and really understand the dynamics of power, to understand the political dynamics in different situations, to understand how decisions are made that I used to have to analyze and communicate as a journalist.