PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar intends to supplement the reputation and acclaim which Guyana earned for its unique sustainable product when he hosts an extensive marketing awareness seminar in the United States. The initiative, which will target tourism operators, media and specialists, is part fulfilment of the Guyana Government’s commitment to the promotion of investment and expansion opportunities.
The Head of State made the announcement to delegates of the 13th Sustainable Tourism Conference who gathered on the lawns of State House Tuesday evening for a reception after returning from their eye-opening excursions to various parts of Guyana.

The conference, which Guyana hosted for the second time, attracted over 30 international media organisations and over 12 international speakers. The President urged that they use the occasion to re-think approach, embrace new strategies and seek new vistas in tourism development.
“If this conference has stimulated ideas on the way forward for sustainable tourism development, then I believe that it would have been an immeasurable success, because great achievements originate with great ideas,” President Ramotar said.
Guyana proudly hosted the conference, touting its cultural diversity, immense natural resources, including 40 million acres of pristine rainforests as a model for managing precious resources, and bringing equilibrium between tourism and sustainable development.
The distinctiveness of the country’s tourism product, from the sand and sea found in the rest of the Caribbean, has increased Guyana’s knowledge about the development of sustainable tourism.
President Ramotar told the gathering of visitors that Guyana has acknowledged the overarching responsibility to promote economic growth through effective environmental stewardship.
Reference was made to the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) which seeks to align economic prosperity with the maintenance of sound environmental practices.
The model is the brainchild of former President Bharrat Jagdeo’s Initiative on Avoided Deforestation.
President Ramotar shared the Guyana Government’s vision of promoting community based tourism through the support of measures that strengthen and expand community involvement in the development of the country’s tourism product.
His recent visit to Kumu Falls in the Kanuku Mountains of the Rupununi, and the prospects for further developing the location to attract tourists was shared with the guests.
Last year, the Surama eco lodge village in the Rupununi won the Excellence in Sustainable Tourism award jointly with Barbados. Surama is now a model based tourism project, and the villagers have been playing an integral role in perpetuating the status of the location.(GINA)