Guyana becomes 1st eco-tourism country to join Travel Council

The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) recently announced that Guyana has become the first eco-tourism country to join the transformational travel movement through a pioneering partnership with the Transformational Travel Council (TTC).
The Council’s partners include tour operators, media organisations and travel suppliers from around the world.
Guyana is the first member to illustrate the destination’s ongoing commitment to transformational travel, and its overarching belief that travel should be a relentless force for good.
This new partnership will now see the country becoming involved in a community of like-minded organisations which show interest in networking, sharing, learning, and collaborating with one another on how to shape the future of travel around these tenets, ultimately positioning Guyana as a destination thought-leader and early-adopter.
GTA Director, Brian T. Mullis, explaining that the country holistically believes in transformation, expressed the agency’s commitment to learning and practising the philosophy of the movement.
“We, at the GTA, are excited to learn more about the philosophy and how we can take it from theory to practice in a way that aligns with our destination’s strategic goals and initiatives. We have invited the TTC to come to Guyana and conduct a workshop for our destination’s key stakeholders, tour operators, accommodation providers and indigenous communities,” he declared.
TTC Co-Founder Jake Haupert shared that, as an emerging dynamic destination, Guyana is one country wherein the TTC philosophy should be integrated.
He underscored the country’s uniqueness. “Guyana is an emerging and dynamic destination (that is) rich in biodiversity, cultural heritage, but yet (is) also raw and real at its essence; making it a prime destination to start integrating the TTC philosophy and guiding practices into (its) entire tourism ecosystem and truly enhance (its) already unique, powerful and burgeoning story.”
The ‘transformational travel movement’ provides an opportunity to transcend from a consumptive form of tourism to a responsible form of travel that has a sustained impact on travellers. These travel experiences should empower people to make meaningful, lasting changes in their lives.
Guyana’s commitment to this ‘movement’ is part of a larger strategy to continue to develop the destination in a sustainable and socially conscious way.