Guyana’s cultural diversity, linkages to the Caribbean, pristine rainforest and delicious Chinese food were highlighted on yesterday’s edition of popular American morning show, Today, where the country was featured as one of the Top 5 destinations to visit this year.
Mark Ellwood, contributing editor for Condé Nast Traveler Magazine, during a sit down with the hosts of the show Hoda Kotb and Al Roker, shared brief information on what the country has to offer. Last month, the global travel magazine listed Guyana as one of its suggested 20 destinations to visit this year.
Featured on the Today show were Guyana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; southwest Michigan; Nashville; and the Canadian Arctic.
According to Ellwood, “Guyana is a wonderful place to go overseas. If you look on the map, you can see it is just on the northern part of South America. But I would encourage you to think of it as a bonus Caribbean country,” he said, before he explained Guyana’s Caribbean linkages.
Ellwood said that the country is culturally more connected to countries like Trinidad and Tobago with its diverse ethnic heritage, “brilliant Chinese food” and beautiful beaches. He also mentioned the Kaieteur Falls, which he pointed out is one of the tallest single drop waterfalls in the world, and the Amazon rainforest.
Ellwood added that Guyana has become easily accessible with direct flights being offered by different airlines. When asked about affordability, Ellwood said that touring the country is very affordable.
“Remember, all of these destinations we are suggesting are very affordable. You could go there (Guyana) on a family vacation and you are not going to spend more than $200 bucks a night,” he said.
During the last quarter of 2019, Guyana was listed in several international publications as a destination to visit this year.
Britain’s Telegraph newspaper has listed Guyana as the number one country to visit out of a list of 20 countries to visit in 2020.
In August, Guyana was awarded the Destination Stewardship Award by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) during the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Awards, which was held in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Guyana was also recognised as the world’s “Best in Ecotourism” and one of the Top 10 Sustainable Destinations by the Green Destination Foundation and ITB Berlin, and it also received recognition for the best destination video at the Golden City Gate Foundation at ITB. Also, in June, Guyana was recognised as the “Best in Sustainable Tourism” by the Latin American Travel Association (LATA).
It is yet to be seen if these accolades will result in a substantial rise in tourist arrivals and whether the requisite facilities will be available here to handle such an increase.
