–through new operator, Countryside Tours

COUNTRYSIDE Tours, a new tourism operator based in New Amsterdam, Berbice, will soon begin operations, offering a new, unique experience with tours around the ancient county.

Travis Issacs of Countryside Tour, in a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, shared his plans for the emerging tourism sector in Region Six.

“Countryside Tours is relatively new, we are only offering small tours to New Amsterdam, and we are marketing the package under historic New Amsterdam,” he related.

Issacs said that the tour was first conceptualised in 2019, but its launch was delayed due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tourism operator said: “We had this idea to do Countryside Tours three years ago; we did all the work to get it started, but then of course the pandemic hit. So, we paused a little bit there, but we are hoping to get it off the ground come January 2023.”

In the meantime, Countryside Tours is offering small tours around the municipality, visiting several monuments and historic landmarks around the town, including its iconic municipal market.

Once officially launched, Countryside Tours will extend its tours beyond the region’s central town.

“Some other tour packages that will come online will include the Number 63 Beach. Some people are also interested in going to the riverine areas like Orealla and Siparuta.

“We are hoping to pick up people from Georgetown, maybe tour them along on the route, there are some things on the route in Region Five and then bring them to New Amsterdam,” Issacs said.

He related that while the tourism community in the region is still growing, there is immense potential to offer a new experience to visitors and tourists.

“The potential for tourism development is great in Region Six…potentially, we know it’s going to blow up wide, because we have been following and working in the tourism industry and a lot of people would have already gone to the Essequibo, they would have already went to Rupununi several times,” Issacs said, adding: “People are looking for new places to go and new places to experiences.”

Meanwhile, Keisha Hamid, President of the Regional Tourism Committee (RTC), said: “Currently, tourism in Region six is growing, we have been at it for the past four years.”

The region, as it is, has only one licensed tourism entity that offers a riverine tour along the Canje River.

Hamid related that while the body has been in existence to promote and sell the region, there is still some challenges with marketing.

“The sector is upcoming, we have a lot to offer but there is marketing, there is a lot of monuments, there is a lot of history, but it’s a lot about marketing and getting people to come and appreciate what we have to offer in Region Six,” she said.

The tourism committed was formed recently to further advance development in the region’s tourism sector.

“We have a newly constructed tourism committee of five executive members, and we are constantly to market what we have and our products,” Hamid said.