GTA licenses more tourism accommodations, tour guides; operators trained

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) has licensed nine tourism accommodation establishments, 16 tour operators, and five tour guides. The nine tourism accommodation establishments are Cara Lodge Hotel; Rock View Lodge; Baganara Island Resort; Rewa Eco Lodge; Pegasus Hotel Guyana; Ramada Georgetown Princess Hotel; Atta Lodge; Iwokrama River Lodge and Grand Coastal Inn.

Meanwhile, tour operators include Evergreen Adventures Inc, The Wild Tales, Epic Tours, Exciting Tours Through the Guianas, Blackwater Adventures, Wanderlust Adventures, Wilderness Explorers, Old Fort Tours, Touring Guyana, Ride Along GY, Singing Chef Adventures, Leon Moore Nature Experience, Toma1 Guyana, Trail Masters Adventure Tours, Adventure Guianas, and Elite Kayaking & Nature Tours.
Additionally, tour guides Shebana Daniels, Carlton Peters, Delon Williams, Tichie Roberts, and John Elliot also received their licences.
The GTA also executed inspection activities in Regions Three, Four, and 10 on 35 tourism establishments including interior lodges and resorts. Once these businesses have passed the inspection process, they will be one step closer to becoming officially licenced with the GTA.
Throughout the month of March, the GTA said it also conducted a series of training including First Aid and CPR training, Health, Safety, Security & Environment (HSSE) training, mixology training, and more, training over 87 persons.
The Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), with support from the GTA and representatives from the consulting firm Target Euro, also launched the Discover Essequibo Circuit Development Project with stakeholders from the Essequibo Coast and Bartica areas.
The first phase of this project focused extensively on product development, which sought to assess the region’s current product and service offerings while exploring opportunities for new products and visitor flows.
As the project continues, the next steps for the team will include follow-up field assessments, developing new products and training sessions, and enhancing the governance structure to lead the functioning of the tourism cluster.
In addition to that, as part of the Tourism and Hospitality Training initiative by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs’ Youth Entrepreneurship and Apprenticeship Programme, 62 Community Service Officers (CSOs) from regions all across Guyana attended a one-week Introduction to Tourism training.
During the training, they were introduced to key areas of tourism development, including the importance of customer service, understanding visitor needs and expectations as well as developing tourism experiences. The first group was guided through a field visit to Surama Eco Lodge, while the second group visited Rewa Eco Lodge. Being able to experience the lodges and their surroundings, interact with the staff as well as learn more about their community-based Tourism development model was well received by all.