DIRECTOR of Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh has announced that Guyana has, so far, successfully executed all its planned activities for ‘Destination Amazonia Year 2009’.

Destination Amazonia Year’ seeks to propel the Amazon region, teeming with immense value, richness and uniqueness in the world, into a more recognised tourism destination.

Guyana, with its large ecological and adventure tourism potential, stands to benefit significantly from the programme, as home to thousands of rare and unique species of flora and fauna and a diverse ecosystem, branding itself ‘Guyana – the Amazon Adventure’.

The initiative by Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) is in collaboration with the eight member countries that are signatories to the pact, including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

Established by an international covenant in 1978, the ACTO mission is to promote the integrated and sustainable development of the Amazon region, a promotion aimed at accelerating the development of sustainable tourism in the Amazon and making people living there more aware of what lies within its borders.

Destination Amazonia Year 2009 was first heralded at the world’s largest trade show, the International Travel Bourst (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, last year and the November 2008 World Trade Market in London, where Guyana participated.

Haralsingh said the Amazon is a natural fit for Guyana’s tourism product and the major calendar events hosted successfully for Destination Amazonia Year are the Pakaraimas Mountain Safari, the Rupununi Rodeo and Mashramani.

He said an outstanding one that Guyana will be hosting is an eco-tourism conference, scheduled for July, basically to pull stakeholders together and map out a strategy for its local development.

“It is to help tour operators to adopt green ways and become more eco- tourism oriented, from a resort to a lodge to the practices of eco-tourism principles,” Haralsingh explained.

Haralsingh said villages will be invited to discuss the whole issue of eco- tourism and what can be done within the industry to voluntarily regulate and promote related standards.

“We can have our own rules that govern eco-tourism practices and, later on, work with international eco-agencies, such as Green Globe and Rainforest Alliance to get international certification,” he posited.

“We want to voluntarily set up guidelines and use best practices and share this with our communities, so that we can be on the path to eco-tourism and we have to also bear in mind that it has to be sustainable; local people have to be employed and involved and future generations must benefit,” he maintained.

Another aspect of Destination Amazonia Year 2009 entails the enrolling of four GTA staffers in Spanish language classes with the Venezuelan Institute in Georgetown.

PREDOMINANT

“This is in keeping with Spanish being predominant in South America and slated to become the language of the future,” Haralsingh said.

Haralsingh said ACTO can play a facilitating role in helping to develop and brand the Amazon, promoting travel to and within it.

“They have been successful in doing that because all the nine Amazonian countries are focusing on promoting the Amazon as a destination.

“ACTO can also facilitate multilateral and bilateral agreements between

countries and to help foster and promote not only trade but tourism among the Amazonian countries,” he stated.

He said Guyana has initiated and is working with Brazil, French Guiana and Suriname on the ‘Guianas Trail Project’ and the State of Roriama to expand relations in tourism, with the impending opening of the Takutu River Bridge.

Haralsingh said ACTO can also be of importance in harmonising tourism policies within the Amazon region and he thinks the ACTO programme will be renewed for another few years.

“The two principal funding agencies were impressed by our meeting and presentation and the fact that we have talked positively about ACTO’s contribution to what they can do with rainforests and in branding the Amazon,” he said.

Haralsingh announced, too, that Guyana has joined with others in the Amazon to lobby for the Amazon River and forests to be nominated among the natural wonders of the world, as part of Destination Amazonian Year activities.

He said a roundtable meeting will be held in Brazil on May 28 on the contribution of the rainforests to sustainability.

Guyana has prepared a paper for it, through collaboration amongst the University of Guyana (UG), GTA and the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), Haralsingh revealed.