With the Government building out the country’s Tourism Infrastructure in an effort to boost tourism and create world-class tourism products, Minister of Tourism Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond, has indicated that the country’s traditional cultures and cultural practices are being examined to help with the tourism promotion.

Speaking during the launch of Tourism Awareness month 2023 on Wednesday, the Minister said Guyanese unite through cultural experiences, and having recognized that, she believes that unity can be channeled to promote tourism here.

“I remain convinced that our cultural products have immense tourism potential, I envisioned more events and locations where tourists can enjoy the Tasa or African drums, or experience our compelling array, of dances. It is now customary in leading tourism destinations to utilize culture as a main facet of tourism promotion, particularly at ports of entry,” Minister Walrond said.

According to the Minister, the administration plans to integrate the county’s customs and cultures into the overall tourism thrust.She said promoting Indigenous communities and way of life are also being looked at as one of the country’s main tourism products as well.

“It is therefore vital that we promote our destination we position pour cultures and religious festivals an integral part of our tourism offering. We have already fused cricket and carnival which has demonstrated its capacity to attract number of visitors. We have also introduced several experiential tours, where our unique cuisine is in the core focus,” the Tourism Minister said.

With the country’s Tourism push, the Minister said visitor arrivals continue to be on the upward trajectory and is surpassing pre-pandemic levels. She said in August this year, the country recorded the highest number of arrivals for that month since 1996 and expect that the numbers will continue to climb by the end of the year.

Guyana will also submit a list of heritage sites to UNESCO for recognition as part of World Heritage sites.

To further boost the country’s tourism and hospitality sector, she said the government is constructing a hospitality institute at Port Mourant which will provide high level tourism and hospitality training.

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