GTA to release new smartphone app to boost tourism in Guyana

The Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Brian Mullis, in an exclusive interview with the Guyana Times, disclosed that a new smartphone application designed to maximise social economic outcome in the tourism sector is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks.

He explained that this app will function as a hub of information ranging from product finding to news, to details and locations about utility services, to restaurants and entertainment, among other categories of products and services.
Emphasis, he noted, must be placed on enhancing effective lines of communication within the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and other supporting tourism bodies, to elevate Guyana’s place in the global market.
“We have to focus on a more progressive and holistic approach to destination development. We cannot continue to engage in ad hoc tourism development,” the GTA Director stated.
Mullis noted that there are also plans for foreign influencers to be flown in to Guyana and experience the country at first hand.
“We intend to bring in persons who focus on adventure, culture and nature to visit Guyana and experience it first hand, and write about it; because content is what is important,” he said.
The GTA Director, moreover, noted that Guyana could cater to high end markets, but due to the high cost to travel to and around the country, emphasis will be placed on how to increase investments on tourism, while at the same time recognise subsectors of tourism that are not currently part of the regulatory scheme.
By doing so, he said, the aim is to raise the profile of the destination in the global marketplace, and to maximise the social and economic outcomes related to tourism for conservation aims as well.
The GTA will also be launching a new website, which aims at providing information on Guyana, including maps, accommodation, calendar of events, travel trips and places.
According to State Minister Joseph Harmon during an interview earlier in the year, the appointment of a Director of Tourism was part of the restructuring of the GTA, which began in early 2017 and is expected to boost development of a sustainable tourist destination.
Mullis is said to have years of experience in this regard and is internationally recognised as a leader in sustainable tourism development. In fact, Mullis is the founder of Sustainable Travel International, which has 26 years of experience directing non-profit and for-profit companies, working in protected areas, fundraising, and leading successful projects in 58 countries.
Mullis has said that since taking up the new role, he has been focusing on a more advanced and rounded approach to tackling the challenges that are currently affecting the growth and development of the country’s infant tourism sector. (Yanalla Dalrymple)