Rainforest Tours head, Mr. Frank Singh told the Chronicle he has entered into a joint venture with Suriname Safari Tours and is upbeat about doing more business.

The partnership will see in the first instance, 24 tourists from Finland coming to Guyana today.

Their visit will be part of a three-country tour organised by Suriname Safari Tours, which specialises in adventure trips into the interior, photo/film safaris, survival training, bird watching tours and other outings.

The group arriving today will be here for two days.

Rainforest Tours' end of the deal will allow the tourists to check out Georgetown's colonial style architectural buildings. The Botanical Gardens is on the checklist as well, Singh said.

The city tour is billed for tomorrow.

The following day, the tourists will be taken to Suriname via the Moleson Creek crossing aboard the MV Canawaima. After spending time in the neighbouring Republic, the tourists will move on to Holland and then back to their native Finland.

According to Rainforest Tours, the deal with Safari Tours will see similar visits in April, May, June and September.

Singh told the Chronicle that the deal with Suriname Safari Tours was clinched through correspondence via email.

He said that since the September 11 events in the United States, Guyana is increasingly being looked at by those interested in a safe place to be adventurous. He said Europe is a big market and should be explored.

Rainforest Tours, which primarily offers tours to Kaieteur and Orinduik Falls (by air or overland), mountain hikes, Essequibo and Mazaruni tours, and more, will be trying to tap into the huge European market at a travel show billed for the middle of this year in Germany.

Only recently, the firm clinched a deal with Ara Tours of Germany and Holland, an initiative the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG) is pleased about.

Ara Tours, headed by German Peter Buttel, will be sending 10-20 Europeans to Guyana every month starting next month as part of a deal with Rainforest Tours, Singh said. The tourists should have started coming this month, but there were some hiccups.

Just what Ara Tours is interested in, Rainforest Tours, which started some seven years ago, will be fulfilling its end of the deal by facilitating the tourists for 21 days in Guyana.

The package being offered by Rainforest Tours, as is marketed by Ara in Holland and Germany, is dubbed "Jungle Trekking."

Breaking the news of the partnership recently, Singh said the joint venture signals Guyana's start of sound business with adventure hungry Europeans.

Now having clinched the deal with Suriname Safari Tours, Rainforest is convinced further that Guyana can make it big with Europe and Singh said he will be doing what he can to get a bigger share of the market.