Stakeholders urge Lindeners to develop tourism product
Local tour operators have urged the Linden community to develop their tourism product, which could then be used as a marketing tool to unlock the community’s true tourism potential.
The tour operators were given a first-hand look at the Linden community recently, as they visited several sites during a reconnaissance visit organised by the
From right: Tour operators Salvador de Caires, Mark McCal and Hadoc Thompson along with members of the GTA at the Watooka Complex in Linden
Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).
Representatives from the GTA were actively involved in the visit to various areas in Wismar and Mackenzie; stakeholders included Salvador de Caires of Wilderness Explorers, Jamal Thomas of Evergreen Adventures and Mark McCal of Tours are Us.
The Tourism Authority’s Product Development Officer, Hadoc Thompson, explained that the aim of the visit was to gauge the potential of the Linden community and to encourage tour operators to organise community tours.
During a discussion at the Watooka Complex, following the tour of the community, the visiting team engaged in a lively discourse about the town’s potential.
In his address to the gathering, which also included Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland, Regional Vice Chairman Elroy Adolph and members of the Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) Tourism Development Association, Salvador de Caires explained that before the trip, he was uncertain the potential of the mining town as a tourism destination.
He explained, “I do believe you have a product. I don’t believe it’s ready for market. I think we have to do a little work to get it ready for market.”
Alluding to the highlights of the visit, he referred to the Watooka Complex, where the meeting was held, as “magnificent” and a “gem”.
“I could sell this just as it is now. There is no other hotel or place that you could stay in the whole of Guyana that is like this place. This building needs to be preserved… whatever needs to be done to keep this going, needs to be done,” the Wilderness Explorer’s representative announced.
He suggested that some work be done to “spruce up” the Linden Museum; De Caires was impressed with the waterwheel and the drive along the river at Wismar.
The potential also exists for the promotion of canoeing, water skiing, fishing and community-based tourism, which will incorporate the Amerindian culture.
Meanwhile, Jamal Thomas of Evergreen Adventures said he too was impressed, and he expressed interest in returning to see what more can be done in terms of packaging. As it relates to marketing, however, Thomas opined that Linden was not yet ready. He noted that the waterwheel needs to be preserved, to make the spectacular site into a tourist attraction.
“I am very impressed with Linden, in terms of the garbage situation. It is remarkable here. It is very clean. I love it,” he said.
In addition, Mark McCal from Tours are Us urged the community to work on developing community-based tourism.
He pointed to the development of trails and the training of tour guides, noting that it would be cheaper for him to take someone to Linden to do climbing instead of the Rupununi, which takes a longer time.
He also encouraged boat operators to develop a tourism package utilising the boats and river. Tours to the bauxite company, he noted, would also be interesting for tourists.
Mayor Holland, in his address, said Linden has a lot more to offer and pledged his support for the development of tourism in Linden, working in tandem with the community.
“On our trip to China, we were blown away, when we realised that Linden is on the WTF site as a prospective world top tourist destination… so we have the potential but we need to package it,” Holland said.
The GTA is planning a similar trip to Kwakwani; they were encouraged to conduct a similar trip to Rockstone.
