AS Tourism Awareness Month (TAM) activities continue the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has executed several activities including the hosting of a ‘School Talk’ at the Berbice High School on November 3.GTA has embarked on an initiative to educate Guyanese on the importance of tourism. The much needed attention and awareness have not been given to the tourism sector, the Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali restated during the launch of Tourism Month. He had also explained that if our people do not have the relevant information, how will the sector be able to move forward.

Kemie William, the facilitating officer and staff of GTA, explained during her remarks to the fifth and sixth form students of Berbice High School, that it is the aim of the tourism sector to educate our young people on becoming tourism ambassadors.
“School talks are part of the series of events that are aimed at educating our young ambassadors about Tourism, the economic, social and environmental impacts and what they can contribute as ambassadors and tourism students,” she said. During the power point presentation the new tourism brand and Guyana’s Tourism product among other sections of tourism were presented to the students.
The GTA on November 5 also hosted a training session in the culinary arts, where several groups attended to enhance their skills in kitchen hygiene and safety, meal planning, methods of cooking and cooking terms.

The session was conducted by Ms. Doreen Oburmuller who said: “The training was to enhance what the chefs or cooks already possess and this training is done free of cost to the participants.”

Participating groups included OMG sports bar, Waterchris, Maharaja Palace, Upper Crust Restaurant, Gravity Lounge, Windjammer Restaurant and Bar and Antonio’s Grill.

In the coming weeks, many more activities and events will be rolled out including the Essequibo Bird Guide Training, to be conducted at Fort Island, this Saturday; a Birding Tour at the Botanical Gardens will also be facilitated on this day.

Additionally, several tour operators and businesses are offering specials during TAM, these include, Dagron Tours, Old Fort Tours, Air Services Limited, GuyBraz Tours and Hurakabra River Resort.

The month long calendar of activities, rolled out under the theme ‘Tourism Entrepreneurs and Ambassadors Mobilised’ kicked off with the grand launch on October 31 when all of the sector players gathered to usher in this celebratory period.