Guyana has good birding tourism potential
-- VENT guides
By Shawnel Cudjoe
Guyana Chronicle
November 9, 2006
GUYANA can develop and sustain a productive and vibrant market in birding tourism if it takes advantage of its untapped resources and invests in training tour guides, according to two internationally recognised birding guides.
Mr. Steven Hilty and Mr. David Ascanio, from Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT), who were here for a Familiarization (FAM) trip which ended Saturday, gave the assessment after touring several sites in the country.
The FAM trip was part of the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) birding tourism programme launched in July.
On Friday last, Hilty and Ascanio met organisations within the tourism sector at the GTIS building on Main Street, Georgetown and discussed their observations on the birds, tour guides, infrastructure and accommodation.
The duo spent nine days in some of Guyana’s main birding areas such as the Iwokrama Rainforest, Rock View Lodge, Wowetta Village, and Karanambu Ranch.
According to Hilty, Guyana has undisturbed land and lots of wildlife.
However, he stressed that to meet the needs of the birding industry, Guyana should take advantage of untapped resource in mountainous areas because the birdwatchers preference for its coolness.
According to Ascanio, at least two species of birds which are of high priority to birdwatchers were spotted every day. He expressed surprise that no tour operator has yet taken advantage of what this country offers.
Commenting on the tour guides, Hilty said that compared with Costa Rica and other South American countries, Guyana is way behind.
However, he added quickly that this should not be of much concern because Guyana is new to the industry.
According to Hilty, the major flaw of the guides, especially in the Rupununi, is their lack of communication skills because for many of them, their second language is English.
“When you work with international people it is important that you learn to communicate well,” he stressed.
On a positive note, Ascanio said the commitment of the guides is quite impressive and unmatched. “It is really hard to find people who have the passion to be birding guides,” he told the gathering.
He also said that their skills at locating birds are exceptional.
He suggested that experts be brought here to train the guides to perfect their skills and upgrade the areas in which they are lacking.
However, he pointed out that there are not enough facilities to access these areas.
Hilty said the country has accommodation to suit the needs of every bird watcher -- whether it is those from the American and European markets who prefer indoor services which can be found at Iwokrama, or those who simply prefer their natural surroundings, which are abundant in the Rupununi.
Hilty commented that ‘glamour birds’ sell a country and Guyana, with more than 800 species found, definitely has plenty of those.
VENT, which has been doing business for more than 25 years, has grown to become the world’s largest company specializing in birding tours and every year it offers roughly 140 tours to more than 100 different destinations.
Hilty is the author of several books, including Birds of Venezuela, the most common book used for birding in Guyana. He has combined his Ph.D. in zoology with more than 30 years of guiding trips in North and South America to become an expert in Neotropical birding.
Ascanio is widely considered to be the top birding guide in his home country of Venezuela and has been guiding birding tours for 20 years in locations such as Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Trinidad and Tobago, and is renowned for his skill in duplicating bird vocalizations.
The Birding Tourism Programme is receiving support from GTIS, a joint project of the Government of Guyana and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The VENT FAM trip is the first of three that will be bringing international birding tour operators and media to Guyana to sample the country’s birding experience.
GTIS said the participants have been carefully selected to ensure that they have high potential of bringing groups to Guyana and the next group is expected from South Africa.