All hinterland villages to receive eco lodges, tourism enhancement handbook

A handbook that is specifically geared towards guiding Indigenous communities interested in building or enhancing their eco-lodges and other tourism facilities is soon to be launched.
Minister of Tourism Oneidge Waldron made this disclosure on Thursday following her response to questions at the National Toshao’s Council Conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Thursday.
According to Minister Walrond, the handbook will be made available to all villages. Minister Walrond explained that the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) will also provide technical skills to support communities, building their capacity to operate facilities at international standards.
According to Walrond, the GTA is currently documenting requests as part of the needs assessment process.
“We want the lodges to be at a standard where visitors are comfortable. We will come with our technical staff to assess your visitor readiness, and we will also help evaluate the tourism potential of your community,” the minister assured the Toshaos present at the event.
Minister Walrond also spoke of the community-led and owned tourism initiative, which provides direct involvement and benefits for the Amerindian communities.
She exclaimed that this initiative is specific to Guyana.
Meanwhile the Toshaos praised the ministry and the Guyana Tourism Authority for the continuous support given to their communities.
Minister Walrond promised to continue providing technical support to Amerindian communities seeking to build out tourism products.
Once the steps from this handbook are followed, various villages will be poised to capitalise on tourism.
In 2020 and 2021 the GTA launched a number of new experiential tourism experiences. Of these, Warapoka, Santa Aratak Mission, St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Bimichi Tours, Moraikobai and Wakapao tours are all Indigenous product offerings that perfectly complement the Destination brand pillars – nature & wildlife, culture & heritage, birding, active exploration and conservation & SAVE travel.
The idea behind community-led and owned tourism is a simple one; communities that welcome travellers should benefit from those travellers. While the benefits of community tourism are vast, perhaps the most obvious, outside of the social and environmental benefits, are the economic benefits. Community members can gain direct employment from tourism-related businesses, or establish their own small businesses that cater to travellers – hotels, restaurants, and tour operations. This creates an economic multiplier effect through local goods and transportation providers, guides and artisans. (G2)