THE Department of Sport is working on adding Guyanese athletes to the pool of ‘Good Ambassadors’, as they become more exposed to and familiar with Guyana’s tourism product.
This programme is being implemented with the help of corporate entities, including the Roraima Airways, according to Director of Sport Christopher Jones, during a visit to Arrowpoint Nature Resort over the weekend with 20 sports men and women. Jones commended Roraima’s partnership with his Department and noted that Roraima is the first corporate tourism entity to come on board as a sponsor since the launch of the Tourism Seminar in April of this year.

“Roraima Airways is the first tourism company which has come on board to support our athletes since the inaugural Sports Tourism Seminar. The Department of Tourism is currently working on the Tourism Policy which incorporates sport and tourism. We want to expose our athletes to our local tourism product, so when abroad they would be able to effectively promote Guyana,” said Jones.
The Director of Sport added “By virtue of Roraima Airways coming on board, this would enhance athletes’ ability to market Guyana’s tourism product. On behalf of the Department, I would like to thank Roraima for supporting our athletes.”

The Award-winning 2016 THAG Resort of the year, Arrowpoint, hosted 20 Sports Awardees on Saturday June 24 – a first-time experience for the athletes.
The Arrowpoint experience included a tour of the Indigenous Village, Sanata Aratak Mission, activities which showcased the way of life of the indigenous people and a brush with Guyana’s wildlife.
Speaking on the exposure of the athletes to Arrowpoint Nature Resort, Jones said “It’s a worthy experience for our local athletes and Guyanese as a whole, because having experienced the best of Guyana’s tourism package, one can appreciate one’s own country more which would create the ripple effect of becoming quality ambassadors. I would therefore encourage Guyanese in general to explore the tourism package.”

The Director of Sport also used the opportunity to highlight the business potential of sports tourism in Guyana, citing the increasing number of sport tourists to Guyana over the last five years as was referenced by the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) at the inaugural Sports Tourism Seminar held in April.
Additionally, he stated that Guyana will host five (5) international tournaments for the first time before the conclusion of 2017, one of which will be held on July 15 when athletes from approximately 17 countries will visit to participate in qualifying contests.
“My department is ensuring that the facilities in Guyana are of a standard that will attract regional and international tournaments and of course, that too will be twinned with exposing Guyana’s tourism products.

“Therefore, the Department of Tourism and tourism companies like Roraima Airways will be able to work on ensuring that in the next five years we can plan strategically for international tournaments,” Jones said.
Roraima’s partnership with the Sports Department forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility policy to promote the Guyana’s Tourism product.