by Dave Rodney, Contributing Carib News Writer
The recent discovery of oil and natural gas in Guyana has created exciting new opportunities for economic development for that Caricom country.
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The find is estimated to be worth at least US$150 billion and signs of the new wealth are everywhere: spanking new buildings, new and refreshed infrastructure, a surge in startup businesses, Exxon ads in prominent places and a wave of technical support personnel rushing in from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and elsewhere to support oil, gas and allied industries.
The tourism and hospitality sectors are projected for fast track growth. I met with tourism director Kamrul Baksh, head of Guyana Tourism Authority at his Georgetown offices a few days ago, and he was very upbeat and optimistic about the forecast for unprecedented growth in Guyana’s tourism industry. His elation, it appears, is anchored in strong indicators. Last year the country saw 319,056 arrivals, making it the best year ever for the sector. But what pulls so many travelers to this rapidly growing South American destination?
“Guyana offers a range of very unique travel experiences”, he revealed. “We’re more than the transactional tours, and we are more immersive, providing a mix of nature, adventure and culture without the push and shove”, he explained.
Over 80% of Guyana’s 83,000 square miles is covered in rainforest. The country is actually one of the last frontiers of pristine rain forest in the world, enabling the country to yield an astonishing variety of wildlife across its vast space. Within the area of wildlife, large cats, reptiles, birds of prey, fresh water fish and rodents are among the offerings.
“We have over 820 species of birds and so we actively promote Guyana as a birding destination”, Baksh stated. “Rivers and waterfalls too are a big part of our attractions including the Essequibo river, the third largest river in South America and Kaieteur Waterfalls, the highest single drop waterfall in the world, plunging 741 ft, four time higher than Niagara Falls. We’ve been working with the private sector to develop more adventure activities that will include hiking, mountain biking and wilderness safaris with an emphasis on small, personalized groups”, he told the Carib News.
The tourism director made it clear that tourism will be a major part of the current economic growth following on the oil and natural gas discovery that has thrown the country in the global spotlight.
“Ten new hotels are being built right now including a few leading American brands like the AC Marriott, and they are being strategically placed across the country, not clustered in one location”, Baksh divulged. “This will add over a thousand new rooms to the national inventory. One of the traditional hotels, the Pegasus, has just seen a multi million dollar expansion with spanking new 5 star suites that will cater to leisure and business travelers”.
With cash in hand, Guyana is also rapidly becoming the new epicenter for popular cultural entertainment in the Caribbean, and plane loads of visitors are now coming in to see premium acts, including a steady roster of reggae and dancehall artists who are performing there at regular intervals. Burna Boy, Nigy Boy, Busy Signal and Tanya Stephens were just there performing and hotels and flights were sold out. The CPL Cricket Carnival too is expected to be a huge magnet for travel to Guyana this summer.
When asked about airlift, the tourism director who is a UWI tourism and hospitality graduate shared good news. “We’ve been able to get British Airways back to Guyana after a 40 year absence from the local runways. United Airlines just launched a new service from Texas and we continue to enjoy service from American Airlines and JetBlue to support our number one market, North America. Our number 2 market is the Caribbean region, and we now have SKYHigh from the Dominican Republic doing 3 flights per week, and, of course Caribbean Airlines, our long-standing partner for decades”.
The city of Georgetown is served by two international airports, and Trans Guyana Airways handles much of the traffic to the interior and Suriname.
Guyana’s former prime minister and current ambassador of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to the United States in Washington, DC Samuel A A Hinds is equally upbeat about the future of tourism. “Our country is truly a treasured gem for travelers and we expect the rapid growth in this sector, especially in ecotourism, to continue in the foreseeable future”, he stated confidently.
