TOURISM is a sustainable industry that is able to generate massive amounts of revenues without needing a heavy and overly continuous reinvestment. Guyana, unlike most of its fellow Caribbean states, has not been majorly consumed by the tourism industry but many people have set out to change that.

When one thinks of tourism, one often thinks of travelling somewhere-often for a change of atmosphere or scenery- to indulge in the simpler pleasures of life. But what has been gaining much traction, is the various branches that lead into the overarching body of tourism. Adventure tourism happens to be one of those branches.

According to a consumer report compiled by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and the George Washington University, the adventure travel market grew at the incredible rate of 65 per cent yearly from 2009-2013. Adventure tourism is a rapidly growing niche sector that springs up in the rugged countries with loads of natural outdoor activities to offer.

This nation is approximately 215,000 square kilometres of pure adventure, covered in four different natural regions and is exceptionally suitable for adventure tourism. And what’s better, is that adventurers locally and from abroad do not need to travel to the forested regions (though that would be great) to indulge in a Guyanese adventure.

There are persons cognisant of the contribution Guyana can make to the industry and have jumped at the idea of developing the niche sector. A local tourism group, Savannah Drive Guyana, with the ‘Epic Savannah Drive’ is seeking to foster adventure tourism in Guyana

The event organised was arguably a great model for developing adventure tourism in Guyana. The drive was part of a host of activities organised throughout the year by the group that seeks to expose the raw, rugged beauty of Guyana and passed through four of the communities: Yarrowkabra, Swan and Laluni and Pakuri Mission, all on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway.

Though the entire event was compact and stuffed into one day (there are options to stay longer though), patrons were treated to a wide variety of activities and different cultures.

Instead of travelling along the smooth highway, you travelled on the off-road trails found aside the highway. The journey moves from travelling through thick vegetation, with an occasional branch coming to hit you in the head, to narrow lanes that seemed as though they were streams of water or perhaps slush. Dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATV), four-wheel drive and other off-road vehicles are all suitable for the drive, but a good balance is a must.

And in the communities, there’s archery, obstacle courses and mud-drags (off-road drag racing but way messier), if the drive of itself wasn’t ‘adventure’ enough.
While advancing this form of tourism, the group has also shown that adventure tourism in Guyana is one not that has to be isolated. In fact, the Savannah drive was able to promote community-based tourism as well, by giving patrons a chance to enjoy a bit of each community and having the communities extend their hospitality and market themselves.

A shopkeeper from Swan, Ryan, shared that although the drive only passed through his community for just a bit on one day, more than 100 patrons had been exploring the community and quite naturally, stumbled upon his shop. He explained that his community has much to offer, but does not receive the opportunity to extend its services and showcase its products often enough.

In Yarrowkabra, Chairman of the Community Development Council (CDC), Corrine Wilson shared similar sentiments. “We’re looking forward to this activity because we need some funds to enhance the village,” she said, while adding that the village’s community centre and playfield need revamping. Wilson also related, “We also want to assist some children in the area with school uniforms because we have a lot of underprivileged children in the area and a lot of single parents.”

So through a combined community effort and collaboration with the organisers of the drive, Yarrowkabra is able to tap into the adventure travel event and harness it to promote community tourism. Furthermore, coordinator of the event, Shane D’Andrade also shared that 40 per cent of the proceeds of the drive went to the four communities.

And through a partnership with the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), the event was able to get Guyanese and foreigners to visit and explore what the country has to offer.

So the drive was one that serves as a blueprint for fostering adventure tourism in Guyana. And while all the talk is about oil now in Guyana, it would be nice to develop the other sectors using the earning garnered here. Each community has something distinctive to offer.