Guyana to promote local sectors directly related to tourism
–Agro Nite, Fashion Nite on the cards
‘GUYANA–the Amazon Adventure’ is ready to host the much-anticipated 13th Annual Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC-13) next month, when the destination will be given the opportunity to showcase its distinct tourism product. This is according to Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister (ag.) Irfaan Ali, during a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
For the second time, Guyana is all set to host the prestigious conference, from April 15-18, 2012. It will be held under the theme, ‘Keeping the Right Balance: Sustaining Our Resources’, and will attract key stakeholders in the tourism industry.
Minister Ali said the interest shown so far from operators and participants around the Caribbean and internationally has been immense. He said this event is catered to have more than 300 delegates, including tourism operators and functionaries from within the Caribbean.
“It is the single most important tourism event in the Caribbean, and the Sustainable Tourism Conference gives us the opportunity to push our distinct tourism product here in Guyana, which are the eco tourism, bird watching, the flora and fauna, sport fishing tourism, etc,” he said.
He noted that the conference would have various study tours in which a number of the country’s eco-lodges and hinterland tourism facilities would be visited and studied.
“You have more than 30 international media operators here, which would give us an excellent opportunity to showcase Guyana’s tourism product, to promote our product, and to give our product access to the wider international market. And this is very critical for us at this stage in the tourism development,” he insisted.

He reminded that Guyana as a country has always been pushing for a Caribbean integrated tourism package, adding, “We believe strongly that the only way tourism can be sustainable, the only way that the Caribbean itself can compete and stay relevant to the varied demands of the international tourism market is if we can offer a versatile, diverse tourism package that would meet the widest cross section of potential tourists.
And that is why we have asked that we have a common tourism package for the Caribbean, in which Guyana is included; because Guyana offers that distinct product that can really blend with what the rest of the Caribbean offers, and we will be pushing for the development of this,” Ali said.
He mentioned the Amazon-Caribbean Tourism Trail (ACTT) linking tourism in Guyana with neighbouring countries Brazil and Suriname, adding, “We have that common integrated tourism package that is being marketed there, which we hope to put out on the international and regional markets very soon.”
The Acting Tourism Minister said that, during STC, Guyana would also be trying to promote, as far as possible, different local sectors that are directly related to the tourism sector.
One such sector is the agro industry. He pointed out, that “Fresh fruits and vegetables are very critical for the tourism sector in the Caribbean. A lot of the hoteliers, managers and senior operators will be here for that conference, and this is an excellent opportunity for us to promote and market our agro products that can get access to these markets.”
To this end, Minister Ali said, Guyana was looking at an agro exhibition, and also an exhibition showcasing locally produced furniture of export quality. “We are hoping to have our sculptures, our craft people, in the exhibition hall, so that they will benefit and they will have access to new markets and new opportunities that they can benefit from,” he said.
He said, additionally, that Guyana was hoping to have a Guyana Fashion Night that would see local designers displaying what they have to offer.
“I think this is an excellent opportunity to holistically bring all the different stakeholders, all the different sectors that surround the tourism sector, to one common point so that they can gain access to the potential benefits from these markets,” he stressed.
CTO has been staging its Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, otherwise known as the Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC), since 1997.
This conference is part of the information dissemination and regional awareness component of CTO’s strategy for sustainable tourism. It looks at how member states can design and implement sustainable tourism policies and programmes, and offers a regional forum for information exchange on the successes and pitfalls of national, regional and international initiatives.
STC also serves as a primary arena where new and creative ideas about enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the Caribbean tourism product are generated.
This is a conference from which everyone involved in tourism and doing business in and with the Caribbean tourism industry can benefit.
The last conference — STC-12 — was hosted at Fairmont Southampton, Bermuda from April 3 to 6, 2011, under the theme “Keeping the Right Balance: Rising Above the Numbers”.