GTA licenced nine tourist guides

The Guyana Tourism Authority on Wednesday said it has successfully licenced nine new tourist guides for the month of June 2020.

Based on the Guyana Tourism Authority Regulations of 2008, Tourism Accommodation Establishments, Tour Operators, Tourist Guides and Interior Lodges and Resorts are required to have a Guyana Tourism Authority Licence to operate or can be fined by the Authority for not being in compliance with the associated regulations. The fees associated with this process, along with GTA-led training programmes have since been waived for a period of six (6) months, ending September 2020 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guides, (Bhagwandas Balkaran, Delven Adams, Kenneth Butler, Rovin Alvin, Ruf ino Davis
Edwards, Cain Edwards, Johan Paul, Vivian Smith, Quadad De Freitas) some of who are no
stranger to the tourism scene have benefitted from the waiver of fees, the GTA said in a release. They were also trained in First Aid/CPR precautionary and emergency measures, a requirement for licencing. Through this training, participants will be able to implement a coordinated response in emergency scenarios which will ultimately build confidence to respond to incidents where time is of the essence, significantly reducing the potential for fatalities.

In addition to it being mandatory to improve their overall operations to ensure the health and safety of their guests, this training is pivotal now more than ever. The Guyana Tourism Authority said too that in keeping with its COVID-19 Resiliency Strategy is committed to providing the utmost support to the sector during these trying times.