AS the tourism sector continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guyana has seen a tremendous increase in visitor arrivals, which was largely due to the flurry of events hosted here, including Cricket Carnival and the Bartica Regatta.

According to a press release from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), “in keeping with the Government of Guyana’s progressive approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has since been fully reopened while maintaining all the necessary public health measures to ensure absolute safety.”

This return to normalcy had a positive impact on the tourism sector and according to the GTA, as of July 2022, the total visitor arrival figure stands at 156,428.

This reflects a 96.98 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2021. The projected visitor arrival figure for the entire year is 291,241 compared to 2021’s 158,347.
Prime Minister Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips, during the recent Guyana Tourism Awards and Gala 2022, had noted that the number of visitors arriving in the country is increasing and would keep growing as the nation develops.

According to him, Guyana’s tourism is “rebounding,” with an increase in visitor arrivals from the previous year and projections for additional growth.
Going forward, he claimed that the government has set a goal of increasing visitor arrivals to as many as 500,000 by 2025.
As Guyana continues to welcome travelers, there have been a number of notable achievements in the tourism sector, including Guyana being featured as the cover story of the April edition of National Geographic magazine.

Additionally, in its most recent issue, the well-known US lifestyle magazine Essence listed Guyana as one of the 12 destinations to visit in 2023.

Guyana was also ranked eighth on the magazine’s list of top travel destinations and has been called an “underrated” tourism destination.

There were also 17 new experimental tourism products launched in 2022, with 10 of those being launched during Tourism Awareness Month.

The director of the GTA, Kamrul Baksh, said in part, “Guyana is poised to welcome many more visitors in 2023 and attract wider regional and international markets, so this is exactly what we need to do to welcome them and ensure that they have a diverse avenue of experiences to indulge in.”

He further asked that existing, as well as potential operators, get onboard with GTA and work with them to identify, develop and market new tourism experiences in Guyana.