THREE weeks of filming for a wildlife documentary in Guyana has ended with River Monsters’ producer Jeremy Wade enthusiastic about returning to the United Kingdom to compile a feature that will premiere in 2014.He met President Donald Ramotar yesterday at the Office of the President, in the company of his crew, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.Wade, a British television presenter and author, didn’t disclose details of the crew’s work in Guyana fearing that he might preempt what viewers will be seeing next year. Two years ago Wade and his team visited Guyana on an excursion to various locations, mostly riverine.
Guyana’s tourism products, particularly its awe- inspiring biodiversity, has been a key attraction for several film/ documentary crews and travel writers from the British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) and other reputable international media entities.
The BBC shot the “Lost Land of the Jaguar”, the three-part series which gave the country tremendous exposure and was a huge success in Europe. Following that, the company filmed a 10-part series titled ‘Serious Explorers’, to retrace the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh, the famous English Explorer who came to Guiana in 1595 in search of the long sought-after and mythical El Dorado.
Birding and Reel Adventures, a United States-based television crew in 2008 filmed a four-part documentary on birding and sport fishing in Guyana. Host of Reel Adventures, Robert Arrington, said that he was very impressed with Guyana’s resources and potential.
Recognising that its tourism products are more nature-based, apart from what the rest of the Caribbean offers, the Ministry of Tourism recently unveiled a strategy to boost the sector that focuses on marketing and public relations, upgrading the tourist arrival inventory with the use of technology, a visitors’ plan for Mashramani, stimulating new investments, improving services, re-discovering home, training and enhancing the city.