– featured on cover of travel magazine

BUILDING on recent recognition achieved in the field of eco-tourism, Guyana has been featured on the cover of the June/July edition of the Travel Agent Central magazine as an “Emerging Destination in South America.”

The world’s largest single-drop waterfall and Guyana’s gem, the Kaieteur Falls, is sprawled over the cover of the magazine which features South America, with a special report on Guyana as its lead story.

“Guyana, a relatively undiscovered country in South America bordered by Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname, has been making moves to promote itself as an ecotourism destination in the North American market,” Travel Agent Journalist Adam Leposa wrote.

Leposa noted that in November 2018, the magazine deemed Guyana as one of the emerging destinations for that year. Building on that, Travel Agent representatives visited Guyana to experience the country for themselves.

Expectedly, the representatives visited Georgetown and touched base with a few of the city’s hotspots and visited a few monuments, landmarks and historical sites. Subsequently, they travelled down south to the Rupununi region where they immersed themselves in the eco-tourism opportunities presented, such as roaming with the river otters or experiencing the traditional ‘vacquero’ lifestyle. As a plus, they got to see Mount Roraima, which isn’t always visible, due to massive cloud cover.

“We found a country with a unique, diverse natural environment that included rainforest, savannah and a coastal city, as well as a destination serious about developing a sustainable tourism product,” Leposa highlighted.

Travel Agent Central is an independent news organisation with journalists possessing deep expertise in vacation travel and business travel, covering the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North America and South America.

Just this past week, Guyana received the Latin American Travel Association’s (LATA’s) “Best in Sustainable Tourism” award. The country was awarded for its impressive sustainable tourism practices and community-led tourism framework which promotes job creation, helps preserve local traditions and customs, promotes low-carbon lifestyles and provides livelihoods for indigenous communities.

Importantly, in March of this year, Guyana was also named the #1 “Best of Ecotourism” destination in the world, leading experienced ecotourism destinations such as Sierra Gorda, Mexico and Tmatboey in Cambodia.

“Guyana has expended considerable effort in recent years, not only to develop new and innovative eco-friendly tourism products as a part of the national Green State Development Strategy, but also to incorporate sustainable tourism best practice into all aspects of its strategy, planning and programming while educating the world about its deep commitment to maximising the positive socio-economic and conservation outcomes from tourism,” Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Brian Mullis said when Guyana received this award.