THE fifth Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) Technical Committee Meeting of Tourism Focal Points ended successfully under the theme ‘Community-based Sustainable Tourism’, with visiting participants lauding Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

Delegates from seven of the eight ACTO member countries participated in the four-day forum last week and deliberated on strategic visioning, planning and implementation of sustainable tourism development for the Amazon as a single geo-destination.

ACTO, an inter-governmental organisation that unites the eight countries of the Amazon Basin – Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela – was formed in Brazil in 2003, after being founded through the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) signed in 1978.

Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle, said Guyana, after attending previous meetings in Ecuador, Brazil, Suriname and Peru, decided to host the just concluded one to show its commitment to South-South cooperation and continental destiny.

He said the forum was a culminating event for Tourism Awareness Month which was observed under the theme ‘Promoting Sustainable and Quality Tourism in Guyana.’

According to Haralsingh, it gathered participants from all ACTO countries, excepting Bolivia, giving them an opportunity to learn more about ‘Destination Guyana’ and experiencing Guyanese warmth and hospitality.

He said, as part of the itinerary, the participants visited Arrowpoint Resort and broke into three groups to look at Santa Mission as a community-based tourism outfit and make an economic, social and environmental assessment.

Haralsingh said the teams looked at the strengths and weaknesses of the community because one focus of the gathering was sustainable community tourism and the visitors saw a different model of it in operation.

“They were very impressed with what they have seen. The fact that there are two resorts within Santa Mission and Santa Aratak, instead of logging and felling trees, they have decided to give leases to Arrowpoint and Timberhead to do tourism operations in a sustainable manner,” he stated.

EMPLOYMENT
Haralsingh said the building of eco lodges creates employment for the locals to earn incomes and improve their livelihood.

In relation to the concept of communities integration, he said the sample community was observed.

“We are looking at how we can help come up with good models and best practices in community-based tourism, because the communities across the Amazon offer tourism and this is an ideal way to promote rural livelihood, secure jobs, preserve cultures and festivals and ways of life,” Haralsingh said.

He contended that indigenous communities have been the best example of a low carbon lifestyle and sustainable living.

Haralsingh noted that, for the first time at an ACTO meeting, three ambassadors were present, including from Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname.

He said it was also the first technical committee meeting at which a member country presented a proposal to ACTO, charging the grouping to include low carbon development in its agenda, strategy and planning.

Haralsingh noted how critical that is to the Amazon and said discussions were conducted, too, on tourism and LCDS, basically on the importance of tourism and low carbon within the wider context of ACTO.

He disclosed that those who participated lauded and commended Guyana on its LCDS and found the presentations by Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad and Chairman of the Climate Change Unit, Office of the President, Mr. Shyam Nokta were excellent.

Haralsingh said the aim is to preserve and protect the Amazon, in addition to branding and promoting travel within it.

“They found it very appropriate and timely that we have an LCDS and most of the delegations have been encouraged to take this back home,” he reported.

The GTA Director said they requested and were supplied with information on the LCDS.

Haralsingh said the agenda of the last technical meeting in Peru was reviewed and a presentation was done on that for 2010, while looking at the development of a five-year tourism plan for ACTO.

AWARDS
He said they also talked about the first ACTO tourism awards, which will be won by three persons, likely to be announced in June next year and each country had to nominate three companies, entities or organisations with track records in eco-tourism and sustainable tourism development.

A proposal for the observance of Amazonia Tourism Day annually was also examined and individual countries are to submit proposed dates.

On the issue of product development, Haralsingh said the creation of integrated circuits to develop routes leading to Guyana, Suriname and Brazil was on the agenda, as well.

“We also looked at something that is called the Amazon Caribbean trail, a joint initiative between Guyana and Suriname, to bring visitors from the islands of the Caribbean to Suriname and Guyana,” he revealed.

Haralsingh said, of particular importance, is the fact the Suriname has excellent airlift from Holland and French Guiana and local tour operators in the Private Sector can also join and capitalise on creating itineraries and packages that can tap into the Dutch market.

In addition to that, he said Suriname has agreed to share space with Guyana at the January Vakantiebeurs Trade and Travel Fair, the largest of its kind in Holland.

Haralsingh said it will be the first time Guyana is attending the exhibition to present its tourism product there to draw Dutch tourists.

He said every country provided updates and talked about the increase tourist arrivals and infrastructure development, whilst anticipating more cooperation within ACTO.

Haralsingh said he mentioned new emerging markets such as Holland, China and Brazil and alluded to Guyana being granted the Approved Destination Status by China for it to participate in the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

He said Brazil has indicated a willingness to host the next technical committee meeting but ACTO is also in receipt of a similar proposal from Bolivia.

“All together, the fifth Technical Committee Meeting was a very, very successful one, where ACTO achieved its objectives,” Haralsingh concluded.

In an invited comment, Minister Prashad said, of the eight ACTO countries, Guyana is now being branded as the ‘Amazon Adventure’.

“Now we have positioned ourselves as a geo-destination within the Amazon region and that will help us to sell Guyana more, as more people know about the Amazon and we are very happy with all the developments that are taking place with ACTO,” he said.

Each of the eight member countries has appointed two persons on the technical committee and Guyana’s are Haralsingh and GTA Administrative Manager, Mr. Ohene Koama.

ACTO is currently executing its 2004-2012 Strategic Plan, developed with inputs from member countries, international organisations, technical experts, civil society organisations and local communities, to pursue a number of approaches.