Wilderness Explorers targeting tourists from Down Under
Local nature and travel operators Wilderness Explorers has opened two new offices in Kingstown, St Vincent and in Melbourne, Australia as it pushes to include Guyana in a number of multinational tourist destinations. Briefing the media about the expansion plans of the company at Cara Lodge last Thursday, Managing Director Tony Thorne and Director of the company Shaun McGrath said that Wilderness Explorers and the local hospitality industry were also upbeat about an increase in genuine tourists visiting Guyana during the summer in recent years. McGrath noted that while visitors arrival in Guyana may be low (including persons coming on business) the number of tourists coming on vacation and using the eco-tourist facilities was up. He credited this to an aggressive lobby by Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Geoffrey Da Silva, who has begun convincing overseas-based Guyanese returning on holiday to use the facilities not only in the city but in the rural and riverain areas. He said it was also due to some amount of marketing by tour operators such as Wilderness Explorers which sell Guyana as part of a multi-national destination. While the genuine tourist figures were not yet available for 1998 and 1999, McGrath said that for vacations "room occupancy in hotels are definitely up". This has been the trend in the past two to three years. Speaking about Wilderness Explorers' expansion programme, Thorne, an Australian national who returned to his country of birth after residing in Guyana for a number of years, said that the Melbourne office has been in operation for three months now. This office, he said, was now promoting trips to Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil, Venezuela, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago from Australia. "We will be concentrating on high quality, off-the-beaten track tours that will suit the current niche markets." The company, Thorne said, will also launch a range of tours to St Vincent and the Grenadines and packages combining both Guyana and St Vincent will be offered at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London next month. The company also plans to showcase its offers at both the Guyana and St Vincent booths at the WTM. Wilderness Explorers is a member of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) and the St Vincent Hotels Association. At the WTM, Wilderness Explorers will also inaugurate its first colour brochure since the business began six years ago. While it emphasises its core product--Guyana, it also touches on the multi-national destination packages in the region. An Italian Tour Operator, Tour 2000 has been selling Guyana for the past two years and a Swiss Company, Comet Reisen, has included Guyana and Suriname in its new brochure. Both tours are operated by Wilderness Explorers. The new developments make Wilderness Explorers the first multi-national tour operator from Guyana, Thorne said. The company is also planning further expansion over the next year. It is already developing more extensive packages in Brazil and also plans to introduce Peru, Jamaica and Cuba among its multiple destinations offer. In keeping with its policy to develop new products and to make local tours more affordable, Thorne said, Wilderness Explorers has entered into an agreement to market Gold Mine on the Essequibo River. Gold Mine, he said was suited to those looking for peace, pleasure and relaxation in a jungle setting with a view of the river, a traditional river house and private beach. The self-catering option is US$70 per night for up to six persons. The cost for an additional adult is US$5.50, child over three years US$3 and children under three are free. As an introductory offer, the company is offering an additional eight per cent off the current rates. (Miranda La Rose)
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