GUYANA’S unique tourism product was showcased at the second International Suriname Tourism Fair. ‘SURIFAIR 2009’ which was staged from October 2 to 4 at Hotel Torarica in Paramaribo.

The occasion created linkages and facilitated networking with other counterparts to sell ‘Destination Guyana’, Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director, Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh reported, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle.

The show, which was attended by a GTA delegation, was organised by Suriname Tourism Foundation under the theme ‘Culture, Nature and Cultural Heritage’.

Having been unable to attend last year, GTA sent two officer to show its commitment to also to French Guiana and Brazil and develop the Guiana trails project.

Haralsingh said GTA was represented by Mr. Marcus Thomas and Senior Tourism Officer, Ms. Kemie Williams, who were successful in their mission.

“Their participation in Suriname has been good for us. They have brought back contacts and leads which we would be sharing with the Private Sector as it is our duty and responsibility,” he asserted.

Haralsingh said the opening of the Takutu Bridge and the Berbice River Bridge makes it better for multi-destination tourism and the local Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce is seeking to tap into the Dutch market, next year, as a lot of visitors from there visit Suriname.

He said, because of this country’s Dutch history and heritage, it is easy to attract such nationals to Guyana, especially working with Suriname counterparts.

Haralsingh said Private Sector companies, including Evergreen Adventures and Wilderness Explorers, already operate tours with and in Suriname.

“We hope that this can further consolidate the relationship between Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil, and we look forward, by next year, to be more fully integrated into the Guiana trails project or what is now called CATP (Combined Amazon Tourism Product),” he said.

Haralsingh said attendance at the Suriname Trade Fair followed Guyana’s hosting of the Guyana Stakeholder Meeting and Workshop on Integrated Circuits arranged by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and GTA, last September at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara, under the theme ‘Establishing the Amazon Caribbean Trail’, at which were officials from Suriname.
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He announced that Guyana will host the fifth Technical Committee Meeting of ACTO in November when Guyana observes Tourism Awareness Month and pointed out that, given Suriname being a border country, a number of persons from there would come to Guyana.

Haralsingh said, during their stay, the GTA representatives also met with the Suriname Tourism Board and Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil officials on the CATP project.

He reminded that the CATP project is designed to develop tourism circuits for multi-destination travel within the Amazon, primarily Guyana, Suriname, Brazil and French Guiana.

Haralsingh said Guyana “fell out of the talks” for a number of years but is now more committed to participation in the initiative as it perceives a lot of benefits from multi-destination travel.

“Suriname gets most of the visitors from Holland and a lot of these visitors do want to come to Guyana because they are looking for other destinations other than Suriname, They have been travelling there so frequently and, particularly, of importance in Guyana, is our rainforest canopy walkway and Kaieteur Falls,” he explained.

Haralsingh maintained that Guyana is in a good position and it will, for the first time, attend the Vakantiebeurs Trade and Travel Fair, the largest of its kind in Holland in January, to similarly present its tourism product in Holland and draw the Dutch tourists to Destination Guyana.

“The other reason we want them to come is because there is the issue of accessibility. They can fly direct to Suriname and then cross the river to the Corentyne and then the Berbice River Bridge to the Takutu River Bridge. So we are virtually the gateway to South America,” he said.

Haralsingh said:“One of the other things we are hoping to achieve in Suriname, other than networking with persons, is to look at the Surinamese tourism attractions and how they organise there trade fair. So, eventually, we can have our own tourism trade fair as well.”

Haralsingh disclosed that GTA and the Ministry are keen on staging Guyana’s own tourism trade fair similar to what Suriname is doing and invite persons from South America, the Caribbean and other tourist outfits and entities to participate.

He said Guyana and Suriname share a lot of things in common, apart from the rainforests, with a lot of Guyanese living in Suriname and the hope is that participation will show how beautiful Guyana is and encourage nationals to come to their homeland with their families and friends.
Courtours and Evergreen Adventures were also in Suriname marketing and selling Guyana.