GUYANA has been featured in National Geographic Traveler Magazine on its Best of the World list, which features 20 destinations to visit in 2014. “The list reflects what’s authentic, culturally rich, sustainable, and superlative in the world of travel today,” National Geographic said.The destinations are featured in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Traveler magazine.

“Our annual Best of the World list doesn’t reflect hot spots drawn from celebrity sightings or travel statistics,” said Keith Bellows, editor in chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine. “It reflects the expertise and experience of National Geographic Travel’s huge network of global travel experts. If you want to explore places worth visiting now, this is a great place to start.”

It was also noted by National Geographic that Guyana may be the best kept secret in South America, with most of the country still covered in wild forests. Stunning natural wonders, stretching from newly restored mangroves near Georgetown to the mighty Kaieteur Falls, to the pristine Iwokrama rain forest — Guyana offers curious travellers an opportunity to experience one of the only four remaining intact rain forest eco systems on the planet.

According to Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Irfaan Ali, the fact that Guyana was listed in the top 20 list is a great breakthrough for the local tourism industry. It will indeed solidify Guyana on the eco-travel map, and will lure even more visitors to these shores in search of adventure, relaxation, and that unique Guyanese experience.

The minister also reminded that, just two years ago, the destination was also featured in National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine’s “50 tours of a lifetime”. Guyana was featured among the best tours in Central and South America.

Minister Ali also said that this magnitude of exposure will help raise the destination profile and create more awareness for Guyana.
In this regard, he pointed to the Tourism Ministry and Guyana Tourism Authority’s aggressive strategy to create more awareness about Guyana’s tourism product in an effort to encourage and attract more international travel writers, filming crews, and host more familiarisation tours (FAM).

In 2013, Guyana has been featured in regional and international publications such as Caribbean Beat, Lime Magazine, 16 Birding Publications – including Cox and Kings; the Guardian of UK, and the CTO’s Caribbean Destination Magazine.

More significantly, Guyana was featured in a six-page spread in Fortune 500 Magazine, a global leader in business journalism, with a circulation of over 850,000 and a global readership of nearly 5 million.

This year, too, the History Channel returned to film an entire season of Gold Rush in Guyana, and Blue Paw from Germany concluded filming in the Essequibo, who found the source of the Essequibo; there has also been an expression of interest from Alcon Entertainment (Twilight Films) to shoot part of a film at Kaieteur.

Ali said that while there is much to celebrate this year, industry leaders and sector players must not lose sight of the need to continuously develop the industry, and to raise the bar in every aspect of service delivery; particularly as Guyana continues to gain regional and international recognition.

The National Geographic Travel announcing that Guyana is one of the top 20 feature Destinations for Best Trips 2014 as a result of one of Wilderness Explorers’ Tour Itinerary of Guyana.

Travellers the world over are being urged to put Guyana on their list of places to visit in the New Year, and to come to experience the uniqueness of the authentic Guyanese tourism product. Several new and exciting events are planned for 2014.