As the industry expands, the GTA works to protect ecosystems, culture, and community livelihoods.

TOURISM in Guyana is growing. With new tour operators venturing into undiscovered destinations and visitor numbers steadily rising, the sector is easily one of Guyana’s most successful. One of the leading, though often under-discussed, reasons for its success is its emphasis on sustainability and environmentally friendly tourism practices.

Agencies such as the Ministry of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) are leading the charge to ensure Guyana remains pristine. In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine this week, Manager of Product Development at GTA, Candace Phillips, highlighted the work being done with businesses in the sector to ensure safe practices for both operators and visitors, preserving Guyana’s captivating natural beauty for years to come.

Phillips has been part of the GTA for the last six years, a journey that began in 2019, when she joined the organisation as a Product Development Officer. Today she sits as the Senior Manager of Product Development, a job title that, in tourism, means creating more than everyday products but experiences. “It’s been an interesting six years. I think there could not have been a greater fit for myself than product development,” she said. Detailing exactly what it takes to develop a tourism product, Phillips added, “I describe product development almost as magic, that thing that happens when you pick something that isn’t there before, and you create something new. So our job is basically to work with Indigenous communities or the private sector towards developing new tourism experiences in this part of the country.”

A major part of curating a tourism experience is environmental safety and sustainability awareness. As Phillips explained, attention and care for the environment are central to the GTA’s development process and are enforced from the very beginning, ensuring that the sector grows with the right practices in mind. “From the very get-go, the first time we do introduction to tourism training, we are emphasising the needs of the environment and how to really develop tourism in a natural environment.”

Another important consideration is understanding the various types of tourism, a vital element for any operator in the sector. Understanding their business will better shape conservation and sustainability practices. “We spend some time talking about the differences between nature-based tourism and ecotourism. One of the things that we find is that a lot of people in Guyana especially say ecotourism when the product is not really that, it may be something else. For us at the very get-go, it’s very important for people to understand the differences in the terminology.”

However, distinguishing and understanding the nature of a tourism venture is not a mere technicality. According to Phillips, this is further emphasised in community-based tourism, where extractive activities can not only hamper, but halt the development of tourism in a community or region. “We work with communities to help them understand that the extractive sector and the natural environment are two things that cannot really exist side by side if you really want sustainable tourism,” she said. “Say, for example, you’re developing tourism in a community, but that community also has mining interests, or there’s a high deforestation level, or maybe they trap a lot of their birds or mammals. Those things cannot really happen to support a thriving tourism enterprise because tourism depends on the natural environment being intact, the animals being there, the various species being there.”

This brings organisations like the GTA to an interesting crossroads. While tourism development is important, many communities argue that other industries are equally vital. To address this, the GTA has developed a range of solutions, working with communities to understand their tourism goals and to draw a clear distinction between community and tourism activities. One of the ways this is done is through zoning.

As Phillips explains, “Part of what we do is helping communities to realise that there’s value in zoning their community lands. If there is an area, a part of their land that is specific to housing, then that’s that. But if you’re going to do tourism, there should be an area that is kept more or less pristine that you can take your guests to.” This creates a clear divide between community land and tourism land, ensuring that Guyana’s communities retain their identity and remain vibrant.

Conservation is also an area the GTA is keen to promote in the industry. In Guyana, where most tourism is nature and environmentally based, conservation is vital. However, as Phillips shared, agencies like the GTA must maintain balance. On this note, Phillips shared that while communities are not prevented from engaging in these practices, they are educated and asked to do so responsibly. “Whether it is a fishing community that may be doing fishing, they have a responsibility to do it in the right way,” she said. “We want to make sure that when they’re doing the fishing, they’re paying attention to the environment, they’re protecting, most of all, the species or the heart of it. And they’re not doing more things to actually damage the environment and also threaten the very fish that is necessary, not only for their business, but for people’s livelihood as well, and basic food.”

But community land and practices are not the only things the GTA works with communities to preserve. Keeping culture intact is also important. As Phillips highlighted, most communities are home to a cultural or sacred location, whether historic or otherwise, and preserving these locations amid tourism growth is not only possible but necessary. “When we look at cultural sites, there are a number of communities across the country that have, or maybe nearly every community has, a cultural or sacred site,” she said. “One of the things we really emphasise, and we do training on that as well, is recognising that not every area in your community is meant to be a tourism area. There are certain parts that can be kept away from the tourism trail, simply because it’s more important to preserve your culture more than anything else.”

And while communities and tour operators are normally tasked with ensuring best practices in conservation and sustainability, Phillips highlighted the fact that some of that onus falls on tourists as well. Citing the code of conduct, she stated, “The code of conduct is basically a document that is developed, and it covers two things. It covers the relationship between the guest and the community, and vice versa.” She further stated, “Because usually, when we think of tourism development, we tend to put a lot of pressure on the operator or a lot of pressure on the communities to uphold a certain standard. But we also need to balance that with the responsibilities that guests, too, have to the areas that they are visiting. And that’s where that respect for people’s way of life and land becomes so important.”

As Guyana’s tourism sector continues its upward trajectory, the GTA’s approach demonstrates that economic growth and environmental preservation need not be mutually exclusive. Through strategic zoning, cultural sensitivity, responsible fishing practices and shared accountability between operators and visitors, the country is charting a path that protects its natural assets while creating sustainable livelihoods, a model that places equal weight on prosperity and preservation.