By Jared Liddell

WITH November being Tourism Awareness Month, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) facilitated a two-day training exercise with 20 City tour guides as part of the preparation for the reopening of the tourism sector.

The two-day activity saw tour guides being trained on basic tour guiding skills; they were also trained on safety procedures for working through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Guyana chronicle reached out to GTA Training and Tourism Development Officer, Chetnauth Persaud, who said that the training is expected to elevate the performance levels of the tour operators in the City.

He stated that the activity is one of many to improve the tourism sector, and that while it usually focusses on the Rupunini tourism destinations, with the present restrictions brought by COVID-19, the GTA has decided to focus on tour guides in the City.

He said that since Georgetown is the capital of the country, there are many areas therein that would attract persons.
“Given all that has happened, it has really changed the way in which we do training. We are more into virtual training, which has opened up so much more horizons for us, because we are able to reach persons in any part of Guyana right now,” Persaud said.

He said that these training exercises are in keeping with the GTA’s goal of improving Guyana’s tourism sector.

Training facilitator of the programme, Kenneth Shivdyal said the exercise was an important part of getting the sector back up and running.
He added that the tour guides are an important part of the tourism sector, and should be equipped with the necessary resources that would allow them to perfect their craft.
“We need to ensure that the persons who are out there are properly equipped to change the mindset of persons when they come to Guyana, and help them have the best possible experience when they are on tour; not just on the Georgetown city tour, but Guyana in general,” he explained.

Shivdyal said the training is particularly important now, as it also gave the GTA an opportunity to test the COVID-19 preventative measures.
“Given COVID-19, this also gives us the opportunity to test some of the protocols that we have put in place to ensure that our guests remain safe, but also to train the new persons on how to safely engage with their guests,” he added.

Shivdyal further gave some insight into the training, stating that it was “impactful”. He told the Guyana Chronicle that although the training was just two days, he believes that the tour operators are equipped with resources to better their services, especially during the circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.