MISS Canada 2012, Jaclyn Miles, touched down in Guyana at approximately 05:00 hrs on Saturday. She interacted with the local press, and was officially welcomed by acting Tourism Minister, Irfaan Alli at an elegant luncheon held at the New Thriving restaurant on Main Street, Georgetown.
At the luncheon, Alli introduced Miles as part of an aggressive tourism plan seeking to put Guyana ahead of the Caribbean. He expressed confidence that Guyana has the drive and capability to do so in record time.
Alli also noted that the “Rediscover Guyana” campaign was doing well, despite a deficiency in the hotel sector, as many are functioning at 100% occupancy levels, leading to many cancellations by tourists wishing to visit Guyana.
He praised Miles for her platform on domestic violence in Guyana, an area in which he acknowledged Guyana has had challenges.
Miles, a group of Londoners, as well as a film crew from the London-based TAGG TV will head to the 2012 Guyana International Youth against the Contagion of Violence conference to be held on August 13 at the Pegasus Hotel, Seawall Road, Kingston.
She is accompanying that 20-member crew of TAGG TV personnel who are currently in Guyana to produce a three-week reality series to promote Guyana on the World Wide Web.
The beauty queen is the spokesperson and founder of the Break the Silence campaign, a programme which focuses on education about the realities of abuse. This programme runs solely on donations and sponsorships.
Ms Miles said, “It is important to reinforce the idea that no one is immune to abuse.”
Ali described Guyana’s tourism product as different, and said TAGG TV would allow the Tourism Ministry to reach a large audience in a cost effective manner. He said that Miles attaching her face and signature to the Guyana brand would add value to the product.
Special guests gracing the event included CEO of TAGG TV, Chris Bassoo, and his mom, the CEO of Nalini Hair Salon, Cheryl Bassoo, who is a TAGG sponsor and will also be taking care of the beauty requirements of Miles while she is in Guyana.
TAGG TV was launched by the London-based 2bazu.com in November 2011, and has grown since its inception to a viewership of over 145,000 people via Facebook feed.
The episodes will see Jaclyn and the participants dining, shopping, and chatting together at local business sites, while they enjoy the services, products and activities on offer locally.
TAGG will “tag” people that are in each episode, and then broadcast to all its contacts and friends, together with those who have “liked” TAGG TV within seconds of the upload. Each show has a theme, so each client base sees the other in a cross-promotional blitz. For example, a wedding-themed show may feature a jewellery business, florist, tuxedo company and limo company all on the same show.
The businesses will get a copy of the video, which they can use for many future years. Packages include a “Platinum” package for US$3000 and a “Gold” package for US$1500. The former package includes a visit to organization advertising with TAGG from Miss Canada. That visit will be profiled on Reality show TAGG TV Guyana, a press release naming the business as a sponsor, and rolling credit at the end of each of the 36 episodes. Bassoo can be contacted at 654-9307.