Guyana returns to British Birdwatching Fair

Aug 22, 2009 News

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Rutland Water, England – As Guyana prepares to exhibit at the 2009 British Birdwatching Fair (Birdfair), the country’s tourism products are seeing more international success and recognition, including new birdwatching trips being sold, more international publications featuring Guyana’s tourism products, and a US-based birdwatching show that continues to impress millions with footage of Guyana’s rare species.
For the fourth year running, Guyana will exhibit at Birdfair, which will take place at Rutland Water, UK from August 21-23. Representatives from the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) – United States Agency for International Development/Guyana Trade and Investment Support (USAID/GTIS) Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative, the Guyana-based tour operator Wilderness Explorers, Karanambu Lodge, and the Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development will be at the booth to speak to thousands of attendees about Guyana’s birds, mammals, pristine rainforests, expansive savannahs, and culture.
While at Birdfair, the team will be promoting Guyana as a destination to international tour operators and travelers, and in doing so will be able to point to new tours being sold by the American Birding Association (ABA), the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and the Mass Audubon Society. These trips are in addition to the more than 15 that are currently being sold by additional tour operators from around the globe for 2010.
With the goal of being the host destination for the ABA International Conference in a future year, the GTIS has been building strong links with the ABA. To create interest in Guyana among their membership, ABA has partnered with the U.S.-based tour operator Siemer and Hand to offer an endorsed trip to Guyana. The trip itinerary was mailed to more than 5,000 members and will be advertised in ABA publications Birding magazine and Winging. Its newsletter and on their website, www.aba.org.
The trip will take place in February-March 2010, following which ABA will publish and promote articles and the list of birds seen during the trip. Tour operator Siemer and Hand will also be selling Guyana birding and nature trips for the Harvard Museum of Natural History Travel Program – to take place in October 2010 – and for Nature Odysseys, and the National Audubon Society’s travel program. Audubon’s Director of Bird Conservation, Greg Butcher, is visiting Guyana in October 2009 through the GSTI familiarization program and will be preparing a feature article for Audubon magazine to promote the trip. The highly regarded birding organization, MassAudubon, is also finalizing plans for a Guyana trip in October or November 2010.
SAGA, a tour operator that typically brings several nature and culture themed tours to Guyana each year has now added two birding tour departures to Guyana. SAGA added the tours based on Guyana’s growing reputation as an excellent bird watching destination and they have received overwhelming interest.
As Guyana is seeing an increased number of birdwatchers visiting the country, many more are experiencing it through television. Birding Adventures, a US-based bird watching show that airs to millions of visitors across the country on FOX Sports Net, re-aired their show on Guyana’s Sun Parakeets and Giant Anteaters in August.
Based on the interest viewers have shown on the three shows Birding Adventures filmed in Guyana, host James Curry has expressed interest in returning to Guyana to film additional shows on rare and endangered birds.
Environmental Reporter, Erica Gies is also planning on returning to Guyana to work on several pieces, including a radio story for BBC World on Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy. After attending a GTIS-sponsored familiarization trip in November 2008, Ms. Gies penned an article titled, “Climate for Conservation” that appeared in the June 2009 issue of Americas magazine. Guyana was also recently featured in an article in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper. The piece, “Guyana: A Journey into the Jurassic,” was written by award-winning travel-writer John Gimlette. (The story can be read here: www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/6010674/Guyana-A-journey-into-the-Jurassic.html.)Mr. Gimlette traveled extensively throughout Guyana in November 2008 to research a book he is writing on the three Guianas.
Mr. Gimlette also wrote an article on Guyana – “In God’s Garden” – that appeared in the April issue of UK’s Wanderlust magazine. Guyana’s participation at Birdfair will be followed by the Guyanese Summer Evening 2009 event on August 25 in London.

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