-highlights her tourism vision
THE 22nd Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Regional Tourism Youth Congress 2026 was held on Thursday, bringing together the future leaders of the Caribbean tourism industry at the annual State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC).
The youth congress, which has been a CTO initiative since 1999, was held under the theme “Caribbean Tourism Through the Eyes of Tomorrow”. It was designed to build tourism awareness, enthusiasm, and engagement among Caribbean youths.
Additionally, it placed the spotlight on 18 young tourism representatives from across the Caribbean, each giving a glimpse of what tourism leadership could look like tomorrow. The countries that were represented are Guyana, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Nevis, St. Lucia, Sint Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
One of the first topics discussed was multigenerational travel product development. Multigenerational travel is defined as a continuing trend in today’s day and age of travel. This type of travel involves families traveling with at least three generations, including grandparents, parents, and children. It is driven by the need to uphold traditions and deepen connections, but also socioeconomic factors including higher disposable income among older adults, and a growing preference for family—focused leisure activities.
Sharing her thoughts on this, Guyana’s ‘Junior Minister of Tourism’ Himanshi Kumar said that for our nation, multi-generational tourism can mean something much greater than families traveling together.
Kumar said, “We should not simply sell families a vacation. We should give them an opportunity to pass Guyana on from one generation to the next. And as Junior Minister of Tourism for Guyana, my vision is simple: Guyana, A Journey for Generations. Firstly, generations of Guyana, Heritage Journeys. We can create tourism experiences where families do not simply visit destinations, they experience Guyana through the eyes of each generation. A grandparent shares the Guyana they remember; a parent connects it to the Guyana of today, and a child discovers the Guyana that will belong to them tomorrow.”
She emphasised that innovation is not simply where families go, but it speaks about what they do together.
Grandparents, she explained, can participate in bird watching, while parents can take part in culinary and craft experiences, and their children participate in wildlife fishing.
These journeys, Kumar remarked, can connect Georgetown’s heritage, our Indigenous communities, rivers, hinterlands, our diverse cultures, cuisines, and our traditions.
“Secondly, we must look beyond our borders. Return to Guyana. [Develop] a multi-generational diaspora programme to turn Guyana’s diaspora into a bridge between generations. Guyana has something many destinations envy, a global family. Diaspora visitors accounted for approximately 65 per cent of total arrivals in the period of January to September 2026. Millions of people of Guyanese heritage live beyond our borders, and many younger generations only know Guyana through the stories told by their elders. Let us now give those stories a destination,” she said.
According to Kumar, Guyana can develop ancestral and cultural journeys that bring diaspora families back to their roots, reconnecting them with their ancestral communities, which leads them to discover their heritage, and to experience where their family stories began.
Finally, the young tourism leader stated that generations of Guyanese are seen traveling to Panama and Colombia instead of to Kaieteur Falls. In her remarks, she underscored one important fact, that many Guyanese have never even seen past their community.
As a future Minister of Tourism, Kimar said she will introduce subsidised domestic tourism packages, making attractions more affordable and accessible for the locals who call Guyana home.
“A child from the coast should be able to experience the wildlife of the Rupununi. A family in Georgetown should be able to visit the Kaieteur Falls, and their grandparents should be able to witness it along with them with accessible transportation, rest areas, and suitable facilities incorporated,” Kumar added.
She affirmed that multi-generational tourism should not only bring families to Guyana, but it should also allow Guyanese families to witness the Guyana that is for every generation.
