British tourists thrilled by Guyana’s tourism product

Well-known travelcompanyJourney LatinAmerica, while celebratingits 30th anniversary,conducted two specialconsecutive trips toDestination Guyana.In 1997, JourneyLatin America beganpartnering withWilderness Explorers ofGuyana to promote toursto South America and theCaribbean. A total of 34British tourists came onthe two memorable tripstaking them through thethree Guianas. The firstgroup came at the end ofSeptember, and the seconddeparted GuyanaFriday morning forneighbouring Suriname.Speaking to the mediaon Thursday evening,some of the visitorsshared their impressionsof ‘Guyana – the AmazonAdventure’, with its tremendouseco, nature andadventure tourism potential,and boasting an irresistible combination of breathtaking natural beauty, diverse cultures, and friendly and warm people.Chris Parrot of has this and Journey Latin America said the 20-day journey kicked off in Caracas, see Venezuela, and they as far as practicable used public transport to getfrom one place to anoth-er “which is the way they first started to do their trips 30 years ago”. He said that the unique sell-ing point that Guyana offers is its amazingwildlife and spectacu-lar birdlife, and its being the only official English-speaking country on the South American continent was a plus, making it an attractive destination

He said this is the first time the company has conducted a trip of this kind to the Guianas, and they are “looking to see whether it is prac-tical thing, to do it on a regular basis”, notingthat two inaugural trips were sold out. From Venezuela, the adventurous group then hopped over to Brazil, where they spent a few days, before crossing into Guyana via the Takutu River Bridge. Before heading to Georgetown, using an Intraserv bus, they visited Atta Lodge, Rock View and the Iwokrama rainforest. Parrott said that from Guyana’s eastern neigh-bour Suriname, they will head off to French will head off to French Guiana, bringing an end to their journey. Parrott’s wife, Sue, who is on her second trip to Guyanaand hopes to come back, said apart from the coun-try’s friendly and hos-pitable people, Guyana has many beautiful sites. She has got many mem-orable experiences here, particularly her stay at Atta Lodge, which will remain with her forev- er; and Rock View, which was very peaceful and relaxing.One of the attractive things about the desti-nation, she said, is how people, especially chil-dren, are enthusiastical-ly proud of their coun-try and where they come from. Travel Editor for Time Out, Chris Moss, said that he has been to every country in the con-tinent except the three Guianas. He observed that the Guianas are indeed very different from the others, and it has been a fascinating trip so far. Lynn Stephenson, who absolutely adores Guyana, gushed about its friendly people, won-derful culture and boun- tiful wildlife, summing the trip up as absolutely amazing.