Guyana is the best kept secret of South America

Dec 13, 2013 News

– National Geographic

Guyana has been referred to as the best kept secret of South America, by the prestigious National Geographic Traveler Magazine, and is also among the 20 destinations being touted to visit in 2014.

The majestic Kaieteur Falls

With most of the country still covered in wild forests, and the stunning natural wonders- stretching from newly restored mangroves near Georgetown to the mighty Kaieteur Falls and the pristine Iwokarama rain forest, Guyana offers curious travelers an opportunity to experience one of the only four remaining intact rain forest eco systems on the planet.
“The list reflects what’s authentic, culturally rich, sustainable, and superlative in the world of travel today,” National Geographic said.
The destinations are featured in the December 2013/January 2014 issue of Traveler magazine.
“Our annual Best of the World list doesn’t reflect hot spots drawn from celebrity sightings or travel statistics,” Keith Bellows, Editor in Chief of National Geographic Traveler Magazine explained.
”It reflects the expertise and experience of National Geographic Travel’s huge network of global travel experts. If you want to explore places worth visiting now, this is a great place to start,” Bellows added.
Meanwhile, according to Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce (ag) Irfaan Ali, the fact that Guyana was listed in the top 20 list is great breakthrough for the local tourism industry that will indeed solidify Guyana on the eco-travel map, and which will lure even more visitors to these shores in search of adventure, relaxation and that unique Guyanese experience.
He reminded that just two years ago, the destination was also featured in National Geographic’s Traveler Magazine 50 tours of a lifetime; Guyana was featured among the best tours in Central and South America.
Minister Ali said too that this magnitude of exposure will help raise the destination profile and create more awareness for Guyana.
In this regard, he pointed to his Ministry’s and the Guyana Tourism Authority’s aggressive strategy to create more awareness about Guyana’s tourism product, in an effort to encourage and attract more international travel writers, filming crews, and host more familiarization tours (FAM) .
In 2013, Guyana has been featured in regional and international publications such as Caribbean Beat, Lime Magazine, 16 Birding Publications – including Cox and Kings, the Guardian- UK and the CTO- Caribbean Destination Magazine.
More significantly, Guyana was featured in a six page spread in Fortune 500 Magazine; this is a global leader in business journalism with a circulation of over 850,000 and a global readership of nearly 5 million.
This year too, the History Channel returned to film an entire season of Gold Rush in Guyana, and Blue Paw from Germany concluded filming in the Essequibo. There has also been an expression of interest from Alcon Entertainment (Twilight Films) to shoot part of a film at the majestic Kaieteur Falls.
Ali said that while there is much to celebrate this year, industry leaders and sector players must not lose sight of the need to continuously develop the industry and to raise the bar in every aspect of service delivery, particularly as Guyana continues to gain regional and international recognition.

2 thoughts on “Guyana is the best kept secret of South America”

bl_666 December 13, 2013 at 5:12 pm

Pity you cannot travel directly to Gy; From outside the Americas you’ve always got to go somewhere else (T&T / B’dos + hotel costs) before you can get to Guyana, then you have a choice of exactly one airline.
Traveller December 13, 2013 at 7:20 pm

How are we going to bring hundreds of people from overseas to Guyana.
You can barely get a flight now
How will we move them in and around the country safely. Where is the Intra country travel plan as outlined buy the Govt.