This is a joint effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and Conservation International (CI).

The Guyana Charette is a short-term collaborative process to solve a specific design or planning problem aimed at developing Guyana's ecotourism potential, officials said.

This initiative will produce the necessary strategies to get project results, and motivate important persons involved in the project to work together to support the results.

The core tourism sites that will be targeted are the Rupununi, the Kaieteur National Park and Historic Georgetown.

Some of the organisations involved in the Charette are the Ministry of Tourism, Conservation International, agencies in the private and public sectors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and indigenous communities.

Seventeen international specialists in the areas of planning and marketing, historic preservation, biodiversity and cultural development, community enterprise development, tourism facilities, and engineering and design are expected to arrive in Guyana for the discussions, according to officials.

These visitors, along with local expertise will collaborate in studying and documenting findings about Guyana's ecotourism potential.

According to Conservation International representative, Brigadier Joe Singh (Ret), the experts are due here to visit and study the core sights and consult with officials and site level communities.

From Guyana Charette, the organisations involved expect to develop a shared vision for ecotourism in Guyana, produce a formal proposal on the way forward for ecotourism in Guyana, and derive well thought out marketing strategies.

According to Minister of Tourism, Mr. Manzoor Nadir, successful Charettes have been held in countries such as Suriname and Ghana, where upon the conclusion of the project the number of tourists to these countries increased considerably.

Some of the 17 experts arriving from various countries overseas are:

** John Brighton, from the United States. He specialises in architecture, urban design, site planning and has served as a project manager on several site design projects.

** Dr. Lieve Coppin, an expert in product assessment based on sustainable tourism, community-based tourism, cultural heritage and good environmental practices, among others. She currently resides in Peru and is the tourism advisor for the Commission for the Promotion of Peru.

** Doug DeNio is a professional retired engineer. He had a 29-year career in the U.S. Department of the Interior and is currently a consultant on such topics as planning and implementation of renewable energy and water and water treatment projects from his home in Colorado.

** Sharon Flynn has 10 years experience in forest product marketing and community-based enterprise development. She is currently an independent consultant in California.

** Tom Lamb is a documentary landscape photographer and his focus is to create a balance between conservation, preservation, tourism and development.

** Other overseas experts are Rob McGinnis, Gerry Patten, Annie Phillips, Jennifer Lynn Morris and Kim M. Sykes.