The Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority, in collaboration with Garage De Eenheid, a Surinamese Tour Company, are hosting a three-day media familiarisation tour with Trishul TBN Broadcasting Newtork, a Surinamese company with a team of four. 

The group from the broadcasting network will be participating in a series of tours during their stay in Guyana, including a tour of Berbice (New Amsterdam) a city tour and a visit to Splashmins and the Essequibo and surrounding areas. A short documentary will be created which will be aired on the Surinamese network to help promote Guyana’s Tourism product.
The visitors will be experiencing the country’s rich cultural heritage, the many historical sites in Georgetown and the Essequibo Islands, the country’s flora and fauna, the exotic cuisine, and the pulsating night-time entertainment.
Garage Tour Company of Suriname, owned and operated by Mr. V Premnauth, has been collaborating with the Ministry of Tourism to bring large numbers of visitors to Guyana; the entity was recently given a Tourism Special Mention Award – Largest Inbound Operator for 2013 bringing in on average a total of 500 visitors from Suriname/Holland per month.
“Whether it’s the allure of the food, festivities, or simply the fascinating people, the relationship between the two South American neighbours continue to be further cemented as Guyana’s tourism product takes centre stage,” the GTA Director, Indranauth Haralsingh, said.
He noted that in partnership with the private sector, packages and programmes are being designed to increase this already impressive figure.
“We are looking to attract an additional 500 tourists on a monthly basis, to accomplish this, we will tailor our packages surrounding very popular and renowned events,” Haralsingh explained.
He acknowledged too that the influx of visitors is as a result of Guyana’s ongoing efforts to strengthen ties with the Dutch-speaking country.
The Tourism Ministry is also collaborating with small hotels in an effort to boost occupancy, and already these smaller establishments are operating at full capacity.
In addition, Haralsingh also announced that Guyana is currently working to establish a “healthy” cross-border tourism relationship with particularly Suriname and Brazil. He said that this is being done at the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) level, and will also promote multi-destination tourism.
ACTO is an international organisation aimed at promoting sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. Its member states are Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Venezuela and Suriname. The establishment of a tourism manual among Guyana, Suriname, and Brazil to promote the cross-border and multi-destination tourism is also underway.