MINISTER of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad has announced that Guyana will be hosting the 13th annual Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC-13), from April 15-18, 2012.
Speaking recently at the Fifth Annual Guyana Tourism Awards, he noted that this year, the country has copped the Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism award,
jointly with Harrison’s Cave in Barbados, a prestigious award by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), in collaboration with TravelMole.
The CTO has been staging its annual conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, otherwise known as the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC), since 1997.
This conference, which will attract tourism ministers, and top media and travel writers, among other officials, is part of the information dissemination and regional awareness component of CTO’s Strategy for Sustainable Tourism.
The seminar focuses on examining how member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programmes, offering a regional forum for information exchange on the successes and pitfalls of national, regional, and international initiatives.
STC also serves as a primary arena where new and creative ideas about enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the Caribbean tourism product are generated.
STC-12 was hosted at Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda from April 3 to 6, 2011, under the theme “Keeping the Right Balance: Rising Above the Numbers”.
Prashad reiterated that the government remains fully committed to sustainable tourism development, and has worked in collaboration with the private sector to witness a number of developments in the tourism sector for 2011.
In this regard, arrivals have been increasing, and there has been increased participation at travel, trade and consumer shows.
He said at the recent World Travel Market in London, the Explore Guyana Magazine and the British Broadcasting Corporation ten-part television series, retracing the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh, were launched.
Minister Prashad noted that more operators, investors, travel writers and film producers are seeking out Guyana.
He said international destination awareness of Guyana has dramatically improved thanks to marketing initiatives, strategies and proactive international PR.
In addition, more films, documentaries, travel stories and publications are being produced on Destination Guyana, as the country is fast becoming a hotspot for films and documentaries.
Prashad maintained that  continued focus is being placed on niche products and markets, including eco-tourism, bird watching, sport fishing, jungle survival, community- based tourism, educational travel, agro tourism, wildlife watching, cruise/yachting, low carbon holidays and sports tourism.
He stressed that government is committed to tourism development and is providing a number of initiatives to facilitate tourism’s growth.

Passing the Mantle
According to the Secretary General of the CTO, Hugh Riley, the STC-13 “will highlight the attributes of a destination with vast natural resources and large-scale eco-systems.”
Bermuda’s Director of Tourism, William Griffith, passed the symbolic Sustainable Tourism Scroll to the Deputy Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Tameca Sukhdeo-Singh, at the closing of STC-12 in Bermuda, in April of this year.
“Guyana’s tourism product has its genesis in sustainable tourism development. From the inception, the government realized that we needed to place our focus on developing a tourism product that protected our environment. Hence, we followed in the footsteps of sustainable tourism. This placed us in an advantageous position, because we offer a multifaceted product to our tourists, both international and domestic,” Sukhdeo-Singh explained at the occasion.
Meanwhile, ahead of the announcement, CTO Chairman Richard “Ricky” Skerritt said, “Guyana’s emergence as an attractive tourism destination is a tribute to the quality of its natural assets, and commitment to sustainability. On behalf of CTO, I am pleased to accept Guyana’s offer to host the 2012 conference.”