TOURISM Awareness Month was launched with much hype and expectation with Homecoming Guyana 2015 and New Destination Brand being the pride of the Tourism Ministry. The month’s activities are proceeding well with a great response in participation from all our stakeholders, the Guyana Tourism Authority has disclosed. 

On October 31 Tourism Awareness Month 2014 was launched under the theme: ‘Tourism Entrepreneurs and Ambassadors Mobilised,’ with the aim of raising awareness of the country’s tourism potential as the Government continues to promote tourism as a sector that has potential for significant economic growth. Homecoming Guyana 2015 and New Destination Brand were launched.
During the launch, Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali was poised to unveil one of the biggest events for Tourism in 2015, from which more than 100,000 Guyanese are expected to return to Guyana as ‘Guyana Homecoming 2015’ begins. He elaborated that “If we can get a mere 10% of our Guyanese living abroad to come home for 2015, it will amount to more than 100,000 persons,” he said.
The ministry, Ali noted, has been working with the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and various airlines to design a marketing strategy for the homecoming campaign. The new logo depicts that Guyana will be offering you the best of ‘two worlds’ in one destination “we are offering you an authentic South American experience with a Caribbean flare,” the minister said.
The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has embarked on an initiative to educate Guyanese on the importance of Tourism. The much needed attention and awareness have not been given to the Tourism sector, the Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali had restated. School talks at the Berbice High School with a total of 55 students from Forms 5 and 6 in attendance and Abram Zuil Secondary with a total of 140 students from Forms 4 and 5 attended.
Approximately seven groups attended the training to enhance their skills in kitchen hygiene and safety, meal planning, methods of cooking and cooking terms among others. A culinary arts training was recently conducted at the Guyana International Conference Centre which lasted for two days and saw the participation of 62 persons. The participating groups were OMG sports bars, Waterchris Hotel, Maharaja Palace, Upper Crust Restaurant, Gravity Lounge, Windjammer Restaurant and Bar and Antonio’s Grill.
A bird-watching tour and a Bird Guide Training Session were both conducted on November 8 by GTA with 18 participants, inclusive of persons from Evergreen Adventures and Hurakabra Tours, along with residents of Fort Island. Also happening on the same day were representatives of the Embassy of Mexico along with the Indian High Commissioner, who all participated in the bird-watching activity in the Botanical Gardens, in Georgetown.
Upcoming Events
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Chevon Lim, GTA’s Senior Communications Officer noted that one of the signature events of this month’s activities is the much anticipated Tourism Awards Ceremony. “This is where we recognise and reward our partners in the development of tourism in several categories,” she noted.
The Tourism Ministry, GTA and THAG are poised to launch restaurant training on November 24. “We have quite a few partners on board where THAG is working very closely to execute this activity,” she said.
“ Also happening on November 24th, we will be staging the Tourism Fair and workshop and we are asking persons to contact the GTA to sign up for the workshop,” Lim related. This is a great opportunity and the event will be held at the Guyana International Convention Centre.

(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)