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North American travel professionals visit
From mountain biking to jungle trekking, a group of travel professionals from the United States recently experienced a range of Guyana’s tourism products.
The group, which consists of five tour operators and four travel writers, is the eighth tourism product familiarisation (FAM) trip organised by the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI), a joint project of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the United States Agency for International Development/Guyana Trade and Investment Support (USAID/GTIS) project.
According to a press release, From January 30-February 9, the trip, which was co-organised and logistically handled with the GSTI tour operator partner, Wilderness Explorers, visited additional locations including Kaieteur Falls, Nappi Village, Yupukari Village, Karanambu Lodge, Rewa Village, Rock View Lodge, Iwokrama River Lodge, Atta Rainforest Lodge and Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, Baganara Island Resort, and Georgetown.
Activities included an eight-mile trek to Jordan Falls in the Kanuku Mountains, Black Caiman research on the Rupununi River and bird-watching from the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway.
Fam trips, which are common in the tourism industry, have proven to be a successful part of the GSTI strategy, according to the organisers.
By partnering with Guyana’s tourism suppliers, USAID/GTIS and the GTA have staged several successful Fam trips that have provided a boost to Guyana’s level of recognition as a tourism destination.
Over the past five years, the number of tour operators from around the globe that are actively promoting, designing and selling birding and natural history trips to Guyana has jumped from a small handful to more than 40. Occupancy rates at many of Guyana’s lodges have increased in the busy season by more than 50 percent.
GSTI chose the current Fam trip participants to help expand Guyana’s exposure and recognition as a tourism destination in North America. Tour guides and operators on this trip included Jim Danzenbaker from Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris, a company that travels only to the richest wildlife areas. Peggy Newfield, owner of Latin American Escapes, said her company is dedicated to worldwide conservation and sustainable tourism with trips designed to encourage an understanding and appreciation for nature, and to respect, protect and benefit the local communities.
Kristina Nemeth is Travel Director of the Commonwealth Club of California, which for 40 years has been bringing together study leaders and breathtaking destinations to offer the best in global exploration to their 18,000 members.
A group of tourism professionals up on top of Jordan Falls in the Kanuku Mountains.
Megan Crewe is a guide for Field Guides, which has been operating high-quality birding tours since 1985 Finally, Mike Crewe of the New Jersey Audubon Society is here to research designing a natural history and birding trip that will be sold through one of the oldest independent Audubon societies Journalists include Jeff Greenwald, who has written six travel books and publishes stories and essays in a variety of publications, including The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, Outside, and Salon.com.
Eric Hiss regularly writes feature articles for high-profile publications oriented towards travel, including Conde Nast Traveler, Robb Report, The Los Angeles Times and Men’s Journal. Co-founder of the global travel and lifestyle blog Wandermelon.com, he is also an active blogger and e-publisher.
Amanda Castlemanis a freelance journalist, specialising in travel, adventure and the environment. Her articles have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, MSNBC.com, Wired, Salon and the UK’s BBC, Guardian and Mail on Sunday. Amanda has worked on more than two dozen books, including titles for National Geographic, Frommer’s, Michelin, DK Eyewitness, Time Out and Rough Guides.
The (GSTI) is receiving support from Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS), a joint project of the Government of Guyana and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
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