The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) must be congratulated for its move to imbue its struggling estates with an additional source of revenue by starting what it has called a “cultural heritage tourism product”, though it will need to considerably hone its presentation of same if it is to make the kind of impact expected.
A tour last month and another a few days ago saw operators and media workers introduced to what the plantation/estate product offers visitors. The mix of historical and current experiences include exposure to the various estates’ histories, viewing of ancient equipment and mills, a 1924 Rolls-Royce, oxen-drawn punts, insectary for biocontrol of pests, and interaction with harvesters among other things. However, since sugar plantation tours are already available in many places around the world—including in countries that also have other tourism pull factors—and some with carefully preserved original owners’ houses and museums, GuySuCo will need to dig deep for an authentic experience if it is to really monetise this effort.
In general, the tour operators expressed optimism about the potential of GuySuCo’s product. Nevertheless, optimism does not translate to visits and indeed a number of recommendations for improvements were made. One hopes the latter was the rationale behind the tour operators’ visits and that their suggestions are fully implemented. They spoke to simplifying the explanation of the sugar production process—using layman’s terms—so that it could be easily understood as well as having tour guides brought up to speed on the story of sugar. GuySuCo may want to look into the possibility of producing videos or short films as visuals add immensely to explaining anything. There are several local, professional filmmakers who would do an excellent job. Authenticating the 1924 Rolls and an account of its history (ownership) should definitely be undertaken as advised. There is a limited number of that year’s make still in working order, most of which are in the hands of collectors. GuySuCo’s Rolls could pique interest in a niche market, particularly if it had an interesting history.
Local operators are no doubt aware that catering to the modern tourist requires a significant amount of imagination. Guyana is far from the first pick for vacation seekers, the majority of whom still prefer the usual: beach, ocean, safari, cruise and comfort. The partygoers travel by the hundreds of thousands to the world’s hottest carnivals. Rio 2018 for example, saw 6 million participants, while Notting Hill 2019 saw 2.5 million people in attendance.
Ecotourism sells because each country is aware that what it offers must be different and it must seek to top the tourist’s personal experience. Ecotourists are looking for unique experiences and are willing to go wherever they need to, to have them. Those who come to Guyana have been wooed by Kaieteur and other waterfalls, eco-resorts, as well as the rainforest. They also know there is a high possibility that they will be able to see plants, birds and animals they might never see elsewhere. Historical sites such as Fort Island and Kyk-Over-Al would draw interest too.
Can operators add GuySuCo’s product to their experiences and maintain the high? Only if the product is top notch. Therefore, serious work needs to be done.
According to statistics published by the World Tourism Organisation last year, for 2017 Guyana had 247,330 arrivals of non-residents. The largest number, 82,616 was from the United States of America, the second largest, 47,814 was from Cuba. Obviously, the majority of these arrivals were not tourists in the sense that they were actively seeking to partake of Guyana’s tourism offers. Only a complete tourist would be unaware that the largest number of Guyanese resident abroad live in the USA and that Cubans have been coming in droves since 2016 (although 2017’s arrivals were almost double that of 2016) mainly for economic reasons.
For now, GuySuCo’s cultural heritage tourism product could certainly garner local interest from schools and tertiary institutions but will no doubt need to market to this audience at a reduced rate for obvious reasons. Returning Guyanese and might be swayed as well and there could be some tourists who are curious. But the benefits mentioned by GuySuCo’s Commercial Manager Rama Persaud following one of the tours would be intangible rather than financial for some time to come.
