The Tourism and Hospita-lity Association of Guyana (THAG) expects to launch Guyana’s first boatyard in 2015, THAG President Kit Nascimento says.
“We have talked with a yachtsman who is extremely interested in building a boat yard here in Guyana and that’s where the money is,” Nascimento said.
He added that at present Guyana is being marketed as a nature tourism destination. Nature tourism, he said, is done predominantly in the Rupununi, Berbice, Essequibo River and Coast.
However, Nascimento said that yachting is becoming popular in Guyana, since Guyana has been put on the map as a yachting destination as well.
Nascimento said that normally yachts would travel to Africa and venture pass Guyana and into the Caribbean and neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago, but now, yachts also make a stop here.
This, he said, creates additional income for the country, since when yachts stop on Guyana’s shores, passengers get off and travel across Guyana, spending money for varying reasons.
Also, he said that with the establishment of a boatyard, yachts can stop here for months at a time to have repairs done.
He said that while yachts do visit Guyana, until the boat yard is completed here, yachts will seldom visit Guyana.
Over 25 yachts visited Guyana in September last year and they were anchored in the Essequibo River. As a part of the Nereid’s Rally, seven yachts sailed into the Essequibo River when they stopped over as the vessels came from Trinidad and Tobago and were venturing to French Guiana as part of the rally.
The vessels went to Bartica and anchored off Baganara Island Resort. The Baganara and Hurakabra resorts, now cater to receive cruisers anchored close off-shore.
