GuySuCo seeking cultural tourism sweet spot to bolster operations

A cane harvester walks with a bundle of sugarcane on his head to load a waiting punt.

With the aim of generating additional revenue for the downsized sugar industry, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) has moved to turn some of its estates into a “cultural heritage tourism product” where persons would gain a first-hand experience of estate operations.

“Cultural heritage tourism in the GuySuCo context will refer to the experience of places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people from the sugar industry in Guyana both past and present. It will include irreplaceable historic, cultural and natural resources in the sugar industry, both past and current,” Public Relations Officer of GuySuCo Audreyanna Thomas told a tour on Thursday.

Reporters and local tour operators were taken to visit the Uitvlugt Estate on the West Coast Demerara, named after Dutch planter Ignatius Charles Bourda Uitvlugt, and Thomas said that the visits by tourists will have the same itinerary.