ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE – ECOLOGICALLY SPECTACULAR

Guyana is “South America’s Biggest Little Secret” – BBC Wildlife Magazine

But that is changing. Guyanese at home and abroad, most of whom had never ventured south of the 10 to 50 miles costal belt that comprises just 5% of Guyana’s total land area – but is home range for some 90% of the population, are now going for the spectacular experiences that Guyana has to offer. Many are taking the time to enjoy first hand in a real tangible way, the places, sights, and wildlife that before doing so were largely paper picture notions and names of faraway remote places.

And this up-tick is being encourage by special domestic tourism packages like the almost 2 for 1 Kaieteur package currently being sponsored by Air Services Limited (ASL), Kaieteur National Park (KNP) and National Parks Commission (NPC), along with other efforts to reduce the cost of domestic tourism.

North Americans and Europeans in particular, are also discovering Guyana as a vacation destination. Europeans spend four times what other Guyana tourists do on a 2 week vacation to get the particular eco-tourist experience they’re after.

Recent quotes from travel magazines serving this segment proclaim: Guyana is the Next Big Neotropical Birding Destination (Birdwatch Magazine); Guyana is ranked among the Top 10 Wild Adventures in Latin America (Guide to Latin America); and Guyana among the Five Best Wildlife Retreats in the World (the Independent).

Minister of Tourism, Industry & Commerce, Manniram Prashad, in Toronto to promote the industry and for talks around the re-launch of Skyservice direct flights to Guyana, said that Guyana tourism is on the verge of moving forward to the next threshold.

Five years ago no one had heard of birding in Guyana, today Guyana is being compared to Peru the world’s top birding destination. Guyana has some 800 bird species with 200 in the capital Georgetown, the highest number for any capital city.

Then there is the Iwokrama forest canopy walkway suspended 100 feet above the jungle floor. It is one of only 4 or 5 in the world like it, and affords unparalleled views of multitudes of bird species. Adventurers may even see other wildlife such as 20 foot anacondas and Jaguars coming out at night.

Directing his remarks to investors, the minister said that they should consider starting up small wilderness lodges that provide the experiences the European type eco-tourists are after. He said that the four wilderness lodges Iwokrama, Surma Village, Rock View Lodge and Karanambu Ranch are booked solid until June 2010.

To be sure, this is not the typical sun, sand, sea, string bikini vacation – although, according to the minister, the Essequibo does contain islands larger than Barbados or Tobago.

It is a challenging niche business – but with its own growing clientele, and less vulnerable to the boom and bust cycle of the standard tourist location. When Cuba fully comes back on the market, for example, the Caribbean tourist destination will be in for some stiff competition and possible readjustment.

The alternative Guyana offers is fresh, reinvigorating “Therapeutic Brown Water”, as the minister put it.

In synch with this, the Guyana tourist experience has been re-branded, “The Amazon adventure”.

The objective is to be mentioned in the same breath with Brazil, which is identified with the Amazon, and Costa Rica, which has a long history in eco-tourism and high name recognition in the business.

Guyana is the new kid on the block but is now joining all travel associations and taking part in international trade shows. Last year Guyana was a participant in Destination Amazonia Year 2009 at the International Travel Bourst (ITB) in Berlin, the industry’s largest trade show worldwide.

Guyana also rented a small booth at the World Travel Market in London last December. The Minister shared the anecdote of how the small booth was filled to such capacity that the overspill had to be cleared by show organisers – people were so enthralled by the video presentation of the Lost Land of the Jaguar, a video about Guyana wildlife which the BBC had made a few months before.

The minister also spoke on other developments such as the soon to be officially opened Takutu Bridge between Guyana and Brazil, buses running to Lethem and Boa Vista, and sport fishing opportunities opening up.

Strides are being made. From 75,000 entrants in 1990, the plan is for 250,000 in 2010/2011. The Tourism Ministry reports the quantity of tourism brochures that were distributed in a year are now being used up in 6 weeks.

Nevertheless the feedback the minister got from industry representative is that there has to be more “Guyana as a destination” advertising spend. This is a very competitive and serious business in which billions are spent on advertising. An increase in brochures and trade show representation though welcome, is just a start. The Industry wants to see evidence of a long term commitment by the government with serious dollars behind it.

The tourism initiative is part of a larger integrated strategy of Sustainable Social and Economic Development that is environmentally responsible and economically viable.

Guyana has long argued that compensation for the opportunity cost of maintaining standing rain forests which has immediate environmental benefits should receive greater focus than the Kyoto model of rewarding countries for replanting forests after they cut the forests down, and which may take 30 or 40 years to really become environmentally productive again.

Through continuous leadership in this area, Guyana has won a world leading break through won under the UN-REDD programme (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), and is now in talks with Norway which has committed significant support to Guyana’s efforts to pursue an environmentally responsible course of preserving the rain forest.

Other tourist friendly initiatives in the works include the tightening of impaired driving laws and anti littering initiatives. Each step together moves Guyana along as: ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE & ECOLOGICALLY SPECTACULAR.

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