The Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) on Wednesday handed over prizes to winners of a poster competition held as part of the 2009 Tourism Awareness Month activities.

The winning posters

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release,  Director of GTA Indranauth Haralsingh handed over the first, second and third place prizes on Wednesday.

The contest, titled ‘How can you reduce your carbon footprint?,’ was seen an opportunity to promote Guy-ana’s Low Carbon Develop-ment Strategy and to help young people understand and inculcate ways to reduce carbon emissions.

The first place prize, a trip to Kaieteur Falls sponsored by Rainforest Tours, was awarded to Anandeo Maraj, of Parika-Salem Secondary School. Devika Budraj, of the Central Corentyne Secondary, copped the second place prize (a trip to Arrowpoint sponsored by Roraima Group of Companies) while school-mate Rachel Boodhoo copped the third place prize (a mountain bicycle sponsored by National Hardware Limited).

The competition was extended to 104 secondary schools and 90 entries were received. The posters were assessed based on content, creativity, spelling, grammar and adherence to the rules of the competition, GINA said. The 15th Tourism Awareness Month was observed under the theme ‘Promoting Quality and Sustainable Tourism in Guyana’ in November 2009. The month allows for evaluation of the performance of the industry and its contribution to the country.

According to GINA, other activities that were carried out in the month included training for hospitality workers, a map unveiling, a birding familiarisation tour, overland tours, a tourism award ceremony, the launching of the Rupununi brochure, the Rupununi Expo and the Christmas tree light-up.