Twinning of Guyana, Barbados, St Lucia eco-tourism products in progress – GO-Invest CEO

…says Guyana attracting interest from local, int’l eco-developers

With Guyana having signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with various Caribbean countries to partner on tourism, Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Peter Ramsaroop has revealed that work was still ongoing on this.

During a recent interview with Guyana Times, Ramsaroop explained that Guyana continued to attract significant interest from potential eco-developers. Referencing the recent sod turning for the US$300 million Qatari-funded resort and convention centre, at Carifesta Avenue, Ramsaroop noted that projects such as this only help to attract other investors, particularly the tourism-minded ones.
“We’re seeing significant increases in eco-developers, both small scale and large scale, across the country. We’re looking for an anchor tenant, that we can bring the twinning of the product between Barbados and Guyana, St Lucia… all those things will raise the interest and investments such as this make it more possible,” Ramsaroop explained.
Meanwhile, the GO-Invest CEO was also confident that during this year, major announcements would be made about eco-tourism investments, even as the Government continues to create an enabling environment.
“Because people will realise you’ve got safety and security, you’ve got a vision in the country. You’ve got leadership. You’ve got the green economy. All those things will be very attractive when it comes to eco-tourism.
And I believe this year you will see some announcements on that type of investments… international and local.”
In 2022, an agreement was signed by President Dr Irfaan Ali and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, to further facilitate relations between the two countries, and collaboration in several areas, including agriculture, food security, and tourism.
The agreement called the Saint Barnabas Accord, was signed on the sidelines of the 43rd Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government meeting, and it paved the way for the two countries to further dialogue on nine specific areas. It is an updated agreement since a previous Saint Barnabas Accord was signed between the two leaders.

Further, a year ago, the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) had inked an MoU to help boost the tourism sector in Guyana.
Also last year, Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond had visited St Lucia for a two-day official visit, where it was announced that the two countries would pursue greater bilateral partnerships and a twinning of their tourism products.
Minister Walrond had noted that both countries have attractive tourism options for their citizens to enjoy, such as St Lucia’s Jazz Festival and Guyana’s Rupununi Rodeo in Region Nine and the Cricket Carnival.
“We have additional options for Guyanese wishing to experience the St Lucia Jazz Festival. Similarly, it will also promote our local events such as the Rupununi Rodeo and the Cricket Carnival to the St Lucia market.
“Recognising the potential, we have begun tourism twinning with St Lucia, combining two distinct appealing experiences and bringing the best of two worlds into one package,” the Minister further said.
St Lucia’s Minister of Tourism, Dr Ernest Hilaire had meanwhile said at the time that with St Lucia’s renown as a tourism destination, there was much his country could share with Guyana in the tourism sector.
“St Lucia has a lot it can share with Guyana, as it relates to tourism and hospitality. We are the leading destination for honeymoons. And the Caribbean’s leading destination for adventure. But when we speak of adventure, I don’t know that anywhere in the Caribbean can match what Guyana has to offer.”
“So, we’ve developed a product in St Lucia. And we certainly look forward to working with you. We’ve met with your Minister. And I’m sure that under the leadership of your Minister, Guyana tourism will go very, very far.”