In this context, Travel2latam spoke with Kamrul Baksh, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority.
What are your expectations and objectives for being present here at WTM?
This year, World Travel Market has lived up to my expectations and our collective expectations as a destination. We have been able to successfully meet with key tour operators who have been selling Guyana for the past few years. So we strengthened that and made additional connections. We have met with various intelligence firms, marketers, influencers, content creators and representatives in the travel industry. It is all about ensuring a continued presence on global platforms like World Travel Market.
And this is the largest contingent we have ever sent from Guyana, with the largest stand space as well. Over the years we have increased the prominence of our presence and have received many positive comments and feedback on our presentation and excellent display.
I am happy that such a representative cross section of the tourism sector is present here and making the right connections and networks that will undoubtedly propel us forward and continue to position Guyana as a leading destination for adventure culture and sustainable nature.
We are almost finishing this season and I imagine you have made a big investment to promote the country. How was the year for you?
It has been a very good year. By 2023 we had fully recovered from COVID, so we have surpassed pre-pandemic figures in 2019. This year we have had record arrivals, every month has been a record of arrivals. It has also been an extraordinary year because we have been able to increase accessibility to the destination.
Guyana got the British Airways connection and reconnected after 40 years via Gatwick. And then we have several additional airlines connecting North America and also regionally. Many more tour operators, for example route finders, are now selling the destination so we are quite happy with the numbers.
We anticipate that by the end of the year we will have record arrivals again and we will continue to be able to create new experiences, new events and ensure that visitor numbers from key source markets are increasing.
What is the hotel and infrastructure situation at the destination?
We have a boom in accommodation. Thirteen hotels are being built right now, and several major highways are being built. So infrastructure is definitely a priority, as is diversifying and strengthening the tourism product.
We want to make sure that we get the recognition that we deserve. Publicity in magazines and other media is very important so that we can continue to tell all the good success stories that Guyana has been achieving over the years.
How do you plan for next season?
Next season we hope to host many familiarization trips to the destination, from media personalities to merchants, content creators and influencers, who will promote us in the right way.
It's very important that we get the alignment right, because we are a niche, sustainable eco-nature. So we just want to make sure that we have the right personalities and networks to promote us. And I think we're making those inroads. And we could actually, in the next cycle, raise our profile even further on the world stage.