minister of tourism guyana

WELCOME – Minister Of Tourism, Industry And Commerce

This is particularly an exciting time for us in Guyana. We are already buoyed by our transformative development happening across our country, and equally enthusing, is the growth and expansion we have been experiencing within the tourism sector.

This magazine will be launched during our Cricket Carnival, which is a phenomenal sport attraction that highlights GuyanaÕs potential to be the entertainment capital of the Caribbean. But this is just the beginning. You can expect to see Guyana hosting more major events, including conferences and sport tournaments in the near future.

It is against this projected growth of tourist arrivals, that we continue to build capacity by expanding the available room stock. Apart from the 1500 international-branded hotel rooms that will become available soon, there has been a surge in bed and breakfast offerings and many Guyanese are now converting properties to bed and breakfast rentalsto meet the rising demand for accommodation.

Guyana is phenomenal and I encourage all of you to explore this unique product Destination Guyana; a land that offers an enthralling mix of rest and adventure. As you browse this magazine, this will become more and more evident. There are attractions and activities all across Guyana that will captivate you, whether you prefer safari, rodeo, regatta, birdwatching, game fishing, horseback riding or just the warmth and serenity of one of our indigenous communities.

As we interact with visitors and other stakeholders, more experiential travel products are being created so that visitors can be fully immersed in our culture and maximize on your experiences. Between September and December, 12 new products will be launched. I encourage you to look out for these new offerings and begin booking once they are announced. If you have suggestions on additional products or ways we can improve our existing ones, please reach out to us at the ministry. We would love to hear from you.

In closing, let me congratulate the publishers of Tourism Guyana 2022/2023 Magazine, for completing yet another edition. I see this publication as an important component of our tourism development. Thank you for your confidence and for appreciating the value of Destination Guyana.

To our visitors, use this magazine as another guide to identify must-visit places in Guyana. Happy travelling!

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Hon. Oneidge Walrond

To provide objective, administrative and technical support to the constitutional functions of the Parliament of Guyana and the People of Guyana

• Name : Hon. Oneidge Walrond
• Designation : Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce
• Political Party : People’s Progressive Party/Civic
• Date Became Parliamentarian : 2020
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Culture, history part of new focus for promoting Guyana’s tourism

Amid the massive reshaping of the tourism industry, the government is focused on finding ways to promote the rich culture of Guyanese as part of the tourist experiences offered.

In so doing, for Tourism Awareness Month this year, the history of Guyanese peoples will be on display at the Walter Roth Museum located on Main Street, Georgetown and indigenous communities that rely on tourism will offer special tour deals.

During the official launch of the month’s activities at the Museum of Anthropology, Kamrul Baksh, the Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority said in keeping with the theme: “Cultural Tapestry: Investing in our people, enriching our heritage”, local tourism agencies will highlight the indigenous culture using new initiatives – the ‘Discover Guyana Passport’ and the ‘Guyana Escapes 2023’.

The Discover Guyana Passport acts as a membership card for tourists to enter indigenous villages that have exciting tourist experiences to offer. This passport is being launched over the next five days. Meanwhile, the Guyana Tourism and Hospitality Association (THAG)’s initiative promotes Guyana’s eco-lodges and resorts by offering support needed to create promotional content and push marketing and promotional campaigns.

“We have the adopted attraction initiative, which basically is inviting members of civil society to come on board to one: appreciate the sites that we have the many attractions that we have, and to adopt as the titles is a particular space or attraction.

“What it does is that it gives you forty different packages that have been coined by 17 to 18 operators that takes you to explore nine different administrative regions,” Baksh explained.

In addition, it offers heavily discounted packages and also allows persons who travel to become eligible to earn at least $100,000 in tour value that can be claimed when touring in the next year.

The Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond said authentic experiences are vital for tourism and she pointed out that Guyana has deep rooted history and therefore must be promoted to attract visitors.

“I envision more events and locations where tourists can enjoy the tassa or African drums or experience our compelling array of dances.

“It is now customary in leading tourism destinations to utilize culture as a main facet of tourism promotion, particularly at ports of entry. The point I’m making is that there is a link between our cultural tourism or culture-healthy heritage and tourism. Therefore going forward, we can expect to see a wider integration of culture within our tourism trust,” the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce said.

The government has invested heavily in the tourism sector but according to the subject minister, support from the private sector is necessary. During the ceremony, the minister pitched the idea of the private sector creating performing shows similar to those in Los Vegas utilizing the local talent here. She said the hotels can have performance nights when people get to attend shows with strictly local performers representing Guyana’s rich culture.

“I will encourage the private sector to monetize this talent, that it shouldn’t be left to this government alone to give these talented young people and this just a fraction of who they are because you see how long the program was,” Minister Walrond said.

Toshao Sonia Latchman said these initiatives are great for promoting the diverse cultures of the Guyanese people.

“Tourism initiatives support local livelihood, provide employment opportunities and empower indigenous people to showcase our traditions.

“This not only enhances the economic well-being of our communities but also strengthens our identity and pride in our cultural heritage. These efforts have led to increased employment opportunities within the villages contributing to a rise in income and improved standard of living for our Amerindian peoples,” Toshao Latchman said.

There are more than 35 events spanning November planned for Tourism Awareness Month inclusive of the highly anticipated Guyana Rum Festival and South Rupununi Safari.

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• |  January 15, 2023
• By Cassandra Khan
• -  January 15, 2023

–to utilise services of local-content creators for social media

AS part of efforts to publicise Guyana as a destination country, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond, says the ministry has been advocating for greater partnerships with international agencies to utilise the services of local-content creators for social media and other publications.

The tourism minister said this during her address at the ministry’s Village Video Competition Prize Giving Ceremony at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Friday.

Minister Walrond, noting that the ministry received 16 “excellent presentations,” said that there were video submissions from almost every region in Guyana.

Many of the producers of the videos, she said, have demonstrated that the capacity is available locally to produce quality content. As such, she related that the ministry will continue to facilitate initiatives such as these to enhance content creation and to be able to identify them with the objective of facilitating lucrative opportunities for Guyanese, while exposing Guyana’s tourism product to a global audience.

“There are some incredible shots and natural sounds of the environments and even the chatter of the community and villagers. This brought to life the dynamism of our communities. I’m confident in any of these top five videos we are recognizing today can make it on the international level…” the tourism minister stated.

She noted that the objective of the competition was to showcase the beauty and diversity of Guyana and to affirm the ministry’s point that every region of the country has tourism potential. “You’ll see that we received multiple submissions from almost every region of Guyana, with multiple submissions from Regions Four, Nine and 10… the Department of Tourism has worked with all and continues to work with all regions to establish Tourism Committees,” she said.

Walrond explained that the committees would drive tourism from the regional levels simultaneously and that the Guyana Tourism Authority has been working with many communities to develop their products into full-fledged tourism offerings.

“We are doing this because tourism has a positive impact on the lives of residents and these residents are the best individuals to carry this mantra, because they know their province better than anyone else,” she said. The tourism minister added: “The village video competition sought to get residents involved in content creation because you are on site, you know the locations… the best time to capture the right images.”

She explained that based on the analytics of the videos posted, the viewership originated from different parts of the world.

“It was not just Guyanese who were looking, every video that is produced or photo that captures the aspect of destination Guyana serves as a marketing tool,” she said.

Minister Walrond explained that if the ministry had to tender for marketing such as those videos and snaps, it would cost hundreds of millions of US dollars.

“We encourage Guyanese to keep taking photos and videos of the various destinations as you travel around and share these images. Many tourists spend significant time researching where they intend to visit and these images will pop up in the feed when they search for them,” she noted.

Additionally, the ministry has been focusing on tourism influencers who can act as brand ambassadors.

“The primary targets are those individuals who have significant social media following and are inclined to promoting Guyana as a tourism destination… so, you will see more Guyanese actively promoting the destination on their social media pages as we work collaboratively to boost our tourism product,” she said.

Meanwhile, for the village video contest, Hana Andrews won ‘Most Reactions’ with a video about Pakuri Village.

In first place was Shannon Holland with 39 points for his video on Mapari, Katoka Village in Region Nine winning $400,000; in second, Damian Lackna and Darrin Smith tied. Damian produced a video on the Rupununi and Darrin on Wakapao, winning prizes of $150,000 each.

In fourth place came Danielle Swain and Shatanand Anude for their video on Ubudi Lodge, Moraikobai, winning $75,000 and in fifth, Jeff Simon for his video on Rewa Eco-Lodge, winning $50,000.

The tourism minister related to the attendees that their videos will be used for promotion, locally and internationally.

Additionally, the GTA will evaluate the potential of the sites covered in their videos and potentially work with the winners to streamline new products.

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Guyana’s mid-year report reveals soaring tourism figures

Guyana’s mid-year report for 2023 has unveiled remarkable growth in the country’s tourism sector, underpinned by rising visitor numbers and strategic infrastructure improvements.

During the first six months of this year, Guyana extended a warm welcome to 149,020 visitors, marking a significant surge of 16.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The months of March and April recorded the highest influx, attributed to increased business travel and the return of Guyanese nationals for the Easter holidays.

Notably, the United States and the Caribbean played pivotal roles, constituting 47 percent and 26 percent of the total arrivals, respectively. The prospect of surpassing the previous record of 314,727 visitors from 2019 seems promising, with upcoming events such as the Cricket Carnival, International Building Expo, Agri Expo, and GuyExpo scheduled for the latter half of the year.

It was also noted that improved accessibility has played a crucial role in facilitating this surge, with new flight routes to Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica, and Suriname that were initiated by Fly Allways in February, followed by British Airways’ twice-weekly operations from the United Kingdom and Europe in March.

The report also stated that the private sector is making commendable strides in expanding accommodation capacity to cater to the growing tourist numbers. The Courtyard by Marriott at Timehri and Aiden by Best Western are on track for completion in January 2024, with the Four Points Sheraton at Houston expected to follow in the third quarter of 2024. It further noted that the AC Marriott at Ogle is also progressing well and is set to add 150 rooms and around 400 jobs upon its completion in July 2024.

Furthermore, the report was also keen to note that Guyana is focusing on regulatory improvements, with clinics and online licensing portals aiding in the compliance of tourism businesses. Over 800 individuals in the hospitality sector have received training in various areas, fostering skills development in the industry.

Safety also remains a top priority, with plans to expand safety management programs and develop niche product safety guidelines for various activities. The government is also working on global accreditation through the ‘Good Travel Seal’ program under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, according to the report.

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Tourism month launched with focus on preserving cultural heritage

With a keen focus on strengthening the link between cultural heritage and tourism appeal, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, in collaboration with the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) on Wednesday launched Tourism Awareness Month 2023 under the theme: “Cultural Tapestry: Investing in Our People, Enriching Our Heritage”.

This theme speaks to a collective effort to embrace and celebrate the diverse makeup of Guyana’s cultural landscape and use these vibrant elements to position the country as a premium tourist destination.

The launching was held at the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology, Georgetown.  

Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond told attendees that, “Tourists across the globe continue to seek out authentic experiences that allow them to explore the way of life of others.

“That is why the experiences within our Amerindian communities form such a strong component of destination Guyana. It is therefore vital that as a destination, we position our culture and religious festivals as an integral part of our tourism offering.”

She added that Guyana’s tourism appeal is further heightened through the invigorating cultural fusion that emanates from the Cricket Carnival events, and these ventures demonstrate the vast potential that lies in merging cultural heritage and tourism.

“There is a link between our cultural heritage and tourism. Therefore, going forward, we can expect to see a wider integration of culture within our tourism thrust, and it is with this end that we have started a working group to explore how we can fully integrate our objective of preserving our heritage and hence celebrating our tangible and intangible heritage to promote tourism,” she stressed.

According to the minister, this year’s theme also reflects the government’s push to invest in building human capacity and local talent.

“We will enrich the awareness of culture by creating a greater cultural identity with a consistent promotion of the arts through events like these, and investing in our cultural groups. The Ministry of Tourism will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport to ensure that there is a deeper involvement of cultural performers, artistes and entertainers at major events,” the tourism minister pledged.

Meanwhile, Director of the GTA, Kamrul Baksh, emphasised that culture is a core pillar of tourism in Guyana, and the aim this year is to ensure that the country’s culture is equitably highlighted.

Vice Chair of the National Toshaos Council, Sonia Latchman pointed to the importance of tourism in indigenous communities, noting that the carbon credit funds have been instrumental in enabling many communities to merge tourism into economic activities through the development of tourism infrastructure.

“Our Amerindian villages play a crucial role in positively impacting tourism in Guyana. Our villages provide visitors with an authentic cultural experience, allowing them to immerse themselves in the traditions, customs and way of life of our people. Tourism initiatives support local livelihood, provide employment opportunities, and empower indigenous people to showcase our traditions,” she said. 

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, and President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana, Omadele George were also in attendance at the event.

This month’s activities will see an exciting series of events aimed at highlighting and appreciating Guyana’s rich cultural tapestry.