Guyana aiming for 500,000 annual visitor arrivals by 2025 – PM

– as tourism sector continues to rebound post-COVID restrictions

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is laying the groundwork for Guyana, which averaged 300,000 visitors before COVID-19 struck, to eventually reach 500,000 annual visitors by 2025.
This was explained by Prime Minister, Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips, during the recent hosting of the Guyana Tourism Awards & Gala 2022. According to him, visitor arrival numbers are already increasing and will continue to rebound.

“Tourism is rebounding in Guyana. Visitor arrival increased by 52 per cent last year and is expected to grow even further… our eco-tourism product is peerless in the Region. We’re also capable of providing the widest range of tourism offerings, including adventure, conferences and events, culture, heritage, sporting and family-based tourism products,” he said.
“Guyana is also suited for tourists who enjoy boating, fishing, hiking, ranching, safaris and yachting. Knowing what we have and where we are, the question is where do we go from here?”
Moving forward, the Government is targeting the increase of visitor arrival numbers to as much as 500,000 by 2025, a number Phillips said they can achieve once they continue to attract big names in the international tourism sector, to Guyana.
“I would like to see us move rapidly towards 500,000 visitor arrivals by the end of 2025. And that is the strategic direction of His Excellency. In order to achieve this target, we need a big player in the industry. We cannot hope to incrementally increase arrivals each year and still expect a transformative sector.”
“That big push has to come from a big player. We’re looking for that big player that will catapult tourism to a higher level of development. In regards to accommodation, we’re moving quickly to increase the number of rooms,” the Prime Minister said.
According to the mid-year report, Guyana has seen an increase in visitor arrivals compared to 2021. The report notes that there was a 103 per cent increase in visitor arrival from January to May, compared to the same period last year.
It was revealed that 105,905 visitors were recorded during that time. The reason for this increase is multi-dimensional. While a lot of persons visited due to increased oil and gas activities, the resumption of tourism attractions like the Bartica Regatta was also a factor.
“There was a 103 per cent increase in visitor arrivals from January to May 2022 from 48,626 to 105,905, when compared to the same period in 2021. This is primarily due to increased oil and gas activities as well as the resumption of tourist activities such as the Bartica Regatta and Pakaraima Safaris,” the report said.
The report meanwhile expects a further 158,223 additional visitors will be recorded in the second half of the year. This it attributed to Guyana hosting the finals of the 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League.
In the first half of the year, $312.8 million was spent in the tourism sector, out of a budgeted $732.1 million. Despite the increase in visitors, it was noted that the tourism sector continues to face challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Guyana’s first quarter, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) had announced earlier this year that the country recorded 51,389 visitors. Last year, Guyana also registered 158,347 overall visitors.
As Guyana continues to welcome travellers, there has been a number of notable achievements in the tourism sector. Guyana is featured as the cover story of the April edition of the National Geographic magazine. “Up the Mountain, to a World Apart” is a 36-page feature, inclusive of pull-outs and maps, covering the full story of the adventure by climber Mark Synnott, with stunning photography by Renan Ozturk.
Additionally, Guyana has been ranked among the top 12 places to visit in 2023 by the popular US lifestyle magazine, Essence, in its most recent issue. According to the magazine, Guyana is the seventh best place to visit. In fact, Guyana was described as an “underrated” tourist destination.