The place was packed to capacity with the lines to the ticket booths stretching along the Eastern Highway, coming close to reaching Garnet Street as early as 18:00 hrs. There were constant traffic jams as Police officers tried their best to divert and control the heavy flow of traffic.

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo checks out Tandy products at the exposition Saturday evening.
The movement of visitors was difficult in some quarters on the ground due to the large crowds and the 'strollers' were many as even the babies were not left out of the activities.

The Call to El Dorado', had gotten off to a promising start Thursday following an official opening ceremony but that, and the following evenings were considered 'slow' as the GUYEXPO committee awaited the anticipated crowds.
GUYEXPO Administrator, Mr. Percival Boyce explained to the Chronicle that as is customary, the first day of the four-day event was a bit slow, especially with the following day, Friday, being a working day.

He, however, pointed out that there was a fair crowd compared to previous expositions.

He said that on Friday there was an increase in turnout though it was not what was expected.

Saturday saw a tremendous crowd which Boyce considered "very good".

He said that as a result of what they experienced the first two nights and the increasing turnout, it was realised that many other persons would want to visit the exhibition and it was therefore decided that it would be held over to yesterday.

This also facilitated school children who were admitted free of charge and who Boyce said would have been exposed to tourism, environment issues, technical subjects and learn what the industries are doing at this time.

ITEMS on display at the exposition included craft and locally designed fabric. An official of the Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica) booth shows off what they have to offer.
Asked whether there were problems or difficulties, Boyce said other than the initial problems of persons complaining that others were encroaching on their space and so on, there were no major problems.

He said that Saturday's turnout exceeded the target and he was optimistic that with the looks of things shortly before 19:00 hrs Sunday, they were close to reaching nearly 80% of their target.

He said the event was successful to that point.

"Excellent", "very good", "well thought out", "organised", were some of the terms used by exhibitors when asked how they felt about this year's exposition.

There were also only high commendations from those in attendance about the standard of this exposition and the improvements made since the last.

When the Chronicle visited the Go-Invest booth, the national agency mandated to promote investment and exports, the Investment Facilitation Officer, Mr. Troy Pearson explained that they were simply trying to inform and educate the general public about the role of the agency with respect to investment.

PATRONS shopping at another handicraft booth.
He explained that should someone go to the agency with a sound business proposal, they would look at it, analyse it and recommend the various agencies from which that person would need additional assistance for lands, a structure to set up a building, or even work permits for persons from abroad, for instance.

He said that on Saturday there was an increase in inquiries at the agency's booth though he noted that Thursday and Friday was a bit slow.

He said GUYEXPO would generally contribute to the development of the country noting that with each investment, Guyanese as a whole, would benefit.

EVEN babies and toddlers went along.
At the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) booth, a wide range of beverages was on display. There was also a bar where those visiting the booth could have gone to make purchases.

Officials here too noted that the event was slow the first two days and one of them explained that this might have been as a result of the current crime situation.

He, however, added that probably seeing that things were going smoothly, more people decided to visit the site thus increasing the numbers each day.

Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Marketing Officer, Mr. Raymond Hunte, declared that GT&T was getting better all the time when the Chronicle visited that company's booth. He pointed out that this year persons visiting the booth were informed through hands-on activities.

At GT&T's booth, the new Norstar and Avaya systems for small and large businesses were on display, as well as the company's live video conference between cellular vendors housed in the main auditorium and officials in the booth, for instance.

There were also live interactive video conferences between officials at 'Telephone House' in Brickdam and the Sophia Site, among others.

Hunte said that by the end of the exposition, the company hoped to achieve customer awareness and get feedback from those who visited the booth. He said they also wanted to inform the public that the phone company offers much more than landline and cellular phones.

And Kainuo, located at Smyth Street, Georgetown, had on display a wide range of motorcycles. No, Guyana is not producing motorcycles but the company hoped to improve its business though the opportunities offered by the exposition.

An official here too said the response was good and that the number of persons visiting the booths was favourable.

Persons could have visited the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL) booth in the main auditorium for information about the many services the publisher of the daily and Sunday Chronicle has to offer, including commercial printing, advertising and library services.

Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Mr. Manzoor Nadir had promised that this year's trade promotion extravaganza would have been the biggest since its inception in 1995, with the more than 140 exhibitors and an anticipated 75,000 paid visitors attending the event.

More than $26M was spent on physical site preparations with significant work done on the fence, the main auditorium roof, and the purchase of a stand-by generator which exhibitors said was much more reliable than the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL).