THE Regional Chairman of Cuyuni/Mazaruni (Region Seven), Gordon Bradford, has announced the establishment of a Regional Tourism Committee comprising 12 residents of the Municipality of Bartica.

The committee for whom Bradford was elected the Chairperson, was established just a month ago, and was sparked by the encouragement of the Director General of Tourism, Donald Sinclair.

Bradford told the Guyana Chronicle that he, along with other residents of the town attended various tourism forums hosted by the Guyana Tourism Authority, and they would have impressed upon the people that Bartica should be highlighted as a prime tourism hotspot.

It is with that backdrop that they have decided to formulate a committee within the town, with a mandate to facilitate and encourage tourism.
Since its establishment, he shared that the committee undertook a beautification project to clean up and improve the Baracara Resort.

“Our first project, which was done also to mark tourism month, we undertook the beautification of Baracara Resort, since we observed that it had a lot of litter. We have planned to return with a pressure pump to wash the rocks because we noticed it accumulates a lot of mass. In addition to that, we will be servicing the sheds there and we will visit periodically, to ensure that it is always in an attractive state. We also cleaned up the beach front and Boulevard,” he shared.

What was done at the Baracara Resort and the Bartica Boulevard will also be done to other areas that have the potential to be a tourist attraction area, he added.
Bradford expressed their commitment and enthusiasm to have locals enjoy and appreciate the beauty of this country. He believes that the best persons to sell what Guyana has to offer are the citizens.

“We see a great need for locals to have the opportunity to visit places around this country. We are the ones who have to sell the beauty to others, so we therefore have to experience the beauty for ourselves so that we can better sell it. And one of the things we are hoping to achieve is to make tourism affordable for locals,” Bradford said.

The committee’s next project is a school tour to various tourism sites. The chairman shared that the love for nature and the beauty of our country have to be established from a young age. As such, a few students from various schools in and around Bartica will be selected and taken on a tourism tour that will be funded by the committee.
Aruwai Resort has also committed to receiving the students to give them a tour of the resort and have them enjoy the facilities there.

Bradford said they have a long way to go in expanding their projects to promote tourism internationally, making mention of a yacht parade in Bartica, but noted they had to start somewhere, and they have started.

“I’m waiting to see the budget allocation for our region, since we have submitted for the enrichment of our beaches among other beautification projects, and I hope that we are granted a favourable and adequate amount to enhance and make our town and region a tourist hub,” he said.