The appearance of Suriname on a new listing of top ten countries to visit in 2010 could impact positively on Guyana’s tourism market, according to President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) Paul Stephenson.
“That could represent a marketing opportunity for the tourism industry in Guyana. If you are leaving the United States and Suriname is your destination the proximity among the three Guianas allows for a look at all of the three Guianas,” Stephenson told Stabroek Business.
Suriname, along with El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal and the United States are listed in a new Lonely Planet travel guide as one of the top places to go next year.
Stephenson noted that there are tours currently being offered by a local tour operator that encompass Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. “If Suriname’s tourism product is marketed correctly it will enhance the Guyana product. Your can go to Suriname for seven days and come to us for seven days.
It provides a choice and an option so that that development is not be viewed negatively. It can be a positive one,” Stephenson told Stabroek Business.
And according to Stephenson the development of the Takutu Bridge linking Guyana to Brazil will produce more traffic. “That will definitely provide more leisure opportunities, even if you just take the state of Roraima and Boa Vista. The people there are a bit land-locked.
To drive to Manaus it will take them 15 to 18 hours. To get to Santa Helena across the border into Venezuela, that, too, takes several hours. The state of Roraima must have people with disposable incomes who will want to have a small vacation with their families. What the Takutu Bridge has done is to open up the whole of the Rupununi and provide easy access to some of the resorts positioned in close proximity to the road.
Stephenson cited the Rock View Resort which he said has been established for several years and offers “a quality product,” the Karanambo Ranch and Surama Village as examples of investments in eco-tourism that could benefit from the movement of Brazilian visitors to Guyana across the Takutu Bridge. “The investments are there. They have been sensible and they have been successful. Hopefully, they will realize huge benefits from the Takutu Bridge,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson told Stabroek Business that the creation of the new road link significantly improves access to Lethem from Georgetown. “You can now get to Rock View from Georgetown in six and a half hours. Guyanese living in Georgetown will now be able to visit the Rupununi or even go into Brazil,” he added.