GUYANA’S booth at Expo 2010 Shanghai in China continues to generate some amount of interest with its captivating display of the country’s unique offerings.
According to a release from the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, approximately 20,000 visitors pass through the booth on weekdays, and on weekends this figure sometimes doubles. Visitors are intrigued by the fact that 80% of Guyana is covered in pristine rainforest, and are quite fascinated by the fact that Guyana’s first President was Chinese, the release says.
With Guyana’s being an emerging destination, one of the first questions being asked is: “Where is Guyana located?”
Since being granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) by China in September 2009, this is the first time Guyana has entered this market, and with this in mind, the booth was designed and filled with information to introduce Destination Guyana to visitors.
Guyana’s booth was excellently designed under the theme, ‘One People, One Nation, One Destiny’ by Guyanese designer, Mr. John Fernandes, under the guidance of the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
Upon entering the booth, visitors are enlightened, by way of a time tunnel, about the history of our six peoples, and how and why they came.
The booth is then divided into three sections, namely: The ‘Amazon Adventure’, featuring Guyana’s rich biodiversity and landscapes; ‘Better City, Better Life’, featuring historical buildings and other hotspots in Georgetown, such as the ever-popular seawall; and the last section focuses on the industries driving the economy in Guyana, such as Agriculture, Fishing and Mining.
The ‘Amazon Adventure’ section also showcases the lifestyle of our First Peoples, with replicas of the Amerindian hut and canoe, which is one of the most common means of transportation in Guyana’s riverine and hinterland areas.
In the industries section, products of Guyana, including the Demerara Gold, Indi Garam Masala, Indi Curry Powder, varieties of El Dorado Rums including the 21-Year-Old and also several Banks DIH Rums, including the X-tra Mature Rum, can be seen on display.
Short videos highlighting the three sections have also been placed throughout the booth so as to give the visitor more information about Guyana.
A prominent feature at the booth is Guyana’s Low-Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), which has generated much interest among visitors.
As part of the ‘Destination Awareness’ events held at the booth, several question-and-answer exercises are carried out daily, whereby visitors have the opportunity of winning themselves souvenirs from Guyana,  such as tote bags, t-shirts, DVDs, and lapel pins, arguably one of the most sought-after items at the exposition.
The Q&A exercise has enabled the booth representatives to interact with the visitors so as to get a feedback on what is known about Guyana.
For the first time at the CARICOM Pavilion, a resident Guyanese band, Reflection, took  the stage to entertain the visitors to the pavilion.
Guyana is also immensely popular with the Chinese media, and has been featured on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) and the Expo Daily newspaper. The feature story on CCTV was ‘Guyana – the Amazon Adventure’.  Guyana was also featured prominently in the Shanghai Morning Post newspaper.
Guyana’s booth has had numerous visitors from Guyanese in the Diaspora, mainly from the United States, Canada, Caribbean and the United Kingdom. Also, they have had some visits from some Guyanese students, and they all have unanimously agreed that “walking in Guyana’s booth gives them a feeling of home.”
National Day
One of the main highlights that has become a tradition at the Expo over the many years is National Day observances.
On July 17, 2010, the Caribbean was brought to the forefront when celebrations were held to observe CARICOM National Day.
National Day gave the Caribbean an opportunity to showcase the rich and diverse culture that is synonymous with each Caribbean country.
Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo attended the National Day celebration, and as Head of the CARICOM Delegation, he paid a visit to the CARICOM Pavilion where he was given a tour of the booths of all the CARICOM countries, including Guyana’s much-talked about one.
The day’s celebration included a flag-raising ceremony, cultural performances such as folkdances, and soca, steel pan and reggae music, and concluded with a blend of Caribbean cuisine at a cocktail reception.
Visitors to the Caribbean Pavilion are treated daily to live steel pan music, which is provided by a participant from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The World Expo is a large-scale, global, non-commercial Expo. In its 150-year history, the World Expo is regarded as the Olympic Games of the economy, science and technology.
The Expo’s main purpose is to promote the exchange of ideas and development of the world economy, culture, science and technology.  But most importantly, it serves as a meeting ground for countries from around the world to display their achievements and improve and foster foreign relationships.
The theme of Expo 2010, ‘Better City, Better Life’ represents the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments. This theme represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development.
The Expo Bureau along with 189 exhibiting countries on average welcome 350,000 visitors to the Expo site on a daily basis.
Expo 2010 which began on May 1, 2010 will run until October 31, 2010, and the Expo Bureau has estimated that 70 million persons will visit the event.