IN 1994 when Wilderness Explorers opened its doors, tourism was an unknown word as there were only a handful of tour operators in all of Guyana.

The company’s founder, Tony Thorne, was also the first President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana. Now 28 years later, Wilderness Explorers remains a leader in the Tourism industry and the only Destination Management Company (DMC) in Guyana.

Wilderness Explorers has a strong commitment to developing tourism in Guyana and consistently provides training programmes in collaboration with other agencies such as the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples Affairs to identify and support new community involvement in tourism.

“Wilderness Explorers has been a leader in the development of new products, in particular Community Owned and Led Eco-tourism, which they introduced to the international tourism market. The company prides itself on its partnership with indigenous communities that are interested in developing their tourism product. Together they work closely from the beginning when these are just emerging products, supporting the community through the development process to create a position in the international marketplace. Wilderness Explorers was the first company to work with Surama Village, as far back as 1999, now an internationally recognised model of Community Owned and Led Eco-tourism,” the release said.

Wilderness Explorers is a fervent supporter of partnerships as a vehicle to build business and drive sales.

According to the release, its philosophy is to create a working environment that allows each partner to utilise their skills and experience, especially when they complement each other. In addition to successfully partnering with the Guyana Tourism Authority on various projects, Wilderness Explorers are active members of the Latin American Travel Association (UK), Adventure Travel Trade Association (USA), and a founding member of ATLAS, a consortium of Latin American DMC’s.

“As a market leader in innovative and creative marketing strategies, Wilderness Explorers strongly emphasises co-operative marketing. The company has invested heavily in marketing through attending well over 100 trade and consumer shows in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, UK, Europe, and Australia. Wilderness Explorers also operates familiarisation tours to Guyana for travel trade and the media to build global awareness of destination Guyana,” the release noted.

Much of the company’s strength is gained from having a sole focus on the tourism industry, which allows minimal distractions from building product and marketing Guyana. While this is a Guyanese company with an international market, the focus has been broadened to be a regional DMC, with already strong product in Suriname, French Guiana, and the Caribbean. The company boasts strong local, regional and international networks in the industry. It has built network representatives in the UK, Australia, North America, the Nordic region, and the German-speaking market.

“The tourism industry is developing globally at an incredible rate, and consumer buying patterns are changing just as rapidly. As a DMC Wilderness Explorers acts as a safety net for tour operators and customers, ensuring smooth and safe travel and, importantly, an agent to solve problems and deal with emergencies. As regulatory requirements increase within the industry, Wilderness Explorers is uniquely positioned to deal with the complicated and stringent health and safety needs and provide an international level of insurance to safeguard customers.

“As Wilderness Explorers celebrates 28 years, we thank our partners for their support over the years, and we look forward to working together to showcase One Guyana! As a company, Wilderness Explorers is privileged to have such a close-knit professional family who have worked as a team over the years. Our achievement could not be possible without their hard work,” the release said.