South America’s best kept secret? Guyana’s tourism, investment opportunities wow Dubai
Guyana boasts of being the best ecotourism destination in the world. This coupled with its rich abundant natural resources has brought renewed investment interests. And, at Expo2020 in Dubai, Guyana is hoping to illustrate that it is South America’s best kept secret.
Destination Guyana is being touted as the ‘Home of nature, Land of opportunities’ at the massive Expo 2020 that opened on Friday in Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates.
There, each country has its own pavilion and it is expected that there will be 25 million visitors over a six-month period.
Guyana’s Commissioner General for Expo2020 Chevon Lim said that the focus of Guyana’s pavilion is to showcase the opportunities that exist for all people- whether it’s tourists looking for adventure or investors seeking to develop specific sectors.
And, this is being done by integrating technology in Guyana’s pavilion at the Expo. Lim explained that all of Guyana’s exhibits and information on investment opportunities are accompanied by QR codes.
When scanned with a mobile device, interested people are taken directly to the websites of GO-Invest or the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA).
On the business front, Lim said that some potential investors have signalled an interest in Guyana’s wood, hydropower capability, the manufacturing sector and craft.
“The opportunity is here for strong leads. Hopefully, we can turn those leads into tangible business opportunities,” she told the News Room during an interview on Tuesday.
Over the past year, there has been a notable increase in the number of investors eyeing business opportunities in Guyana in areas such as energy and agriculture.
This was seen as Guyana participated in the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas and the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
But Lim said that in Dubai, there is significant interest in Guyana’s tourism. Aside from the ecotourism delights, she said that the promotion of Guyana’s cultural diversity- drawn from its six peoples- is intriguing.
The Guyana pavilion has been open for less than one week, but based on the interactions so far, Lim is convinced that Guyana will continue to occupy the spotlight.
“We will have the opportunity to shine, what we have to offer and that we are the best kept secret in South America,” Lim stated.
Meanwhile, the expo will feature a Guyana National Day observance on October 19. Then, President Dr. Irfaan Ali is expected to lead a high-level team and will deliver remarks at the Expo.
Subsequently, Lim said that Guyana will put on a 20-minute cultural presentation to “wow the world”. Then, the very cultural diversity that has intrigued many visitors will be on full display and this is expected to boost Guyana’s tourism product too.
“Guyana is gaining traction and the world is noticing us. It can only get better from here,” the Director-General stated.
This expo was originally scheduled for 2020, but was postponed due to travel restrictions and other health protocols as a result of COVID-19; it is still being dubbed “Expo2020.”
The expo will run for 173 days, from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, featuring food, music, technology, art, science, culture, and numerous live events.
