GUYANA’S participation at the recently concluded Expo Milano, 2015 in Italy was deemed a resounding success by the team from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) which returned following the six-month visit to showcase Guyana’a products and to promote Destination Guyana.This disclosure was made during a press briefing at the GTA office, Sophia Exhibition Site, by several staffers who made the trip.
Highlighting Guyana’s participation, Senior Communications Officer Chevon Lim said Guyana was one of eight CARICOM countries which were part of the international expo.
The others were Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines and Suriname.
The primary objective of Guyana’s participation was to promote Guyana as an attractive tourism destination.
She added that Guyana was not a known destination in Italy and the team’s presence at Expo Milano presented them with a first-hand opportunity to showcase this country to the approximately 7,000 visitors who passed through the pavilion on a daily basis.
She pointed out that the expo also allowed them to promote export-ready products from Guyana, promote Guyana as an attractive and cost-effective location for Foreign Direct Investments, and to interact with the Italian and international media, in an effort to enhance the overall image of Guyana.
According to Lim, the local team received a number of positive feedbacks from the many visitors to the Guyana booth at the exhibition.
Lim disclosed that many visitors openly said that Guyana had the most attractive brand logo in the CARICOM pavilion and close to one million visitors collected the Guyana logo in their passports.
She noted that representatives introduced a wider range of Guyanese products into the European Market. Companies which lent their support included GuySuCo, Umami, New GPC House of Limacol, THAG,the Guyana Forestry Commission, Banks DIH, Beharry and Company, Pomeroon Oil Mills, NAMILCO and Amazon Caribbean Guyana Limited (AMCAR). Go-Invest was also there.
Lim said more persons are now aware that Guyana is one of the leading producers of sugar and rice in the Caribbean and several European rum distributors expressed an interest in Banks DIH products including the 7, 10, 12 and 15-year-old rums and the assorted flavours of Rum Punch.
She stated that Limacol was also a big hit at the Expo. During the hot months, many visitors were given samples of this product and were amazed at its effects. Many agreed that they would purchase the product if it were available in Europe.
GTA Director Indranauth Haralsingh said that every five years the World Expo is held, and in 2020 it will be held in Dubai. As such, Guyana would tap into that event to ensure its agricultural products are showcased. He noted that during the expo, Guyana introduced many of its products and he was confident that those would be on the European market shortly.
The GTA Director said as a result of the expo, more people were aware of Guyana and many have expressed their interest in visiting.
The expo lasted six months and was deemed as one of the largest and longest sustained destination promotions. Some 21 million people were at the event and close to 1,000,000 (one million) persons visited the CARICOM pavilion.
Also delivering remarks was Tourism Development Officer Surjdai Rajubar and Investment Officer Kamrul Baksh.