President Ali says Gov’t eying Linden as ‘ideal tourist destination’

(DPI) President Irfaan Ali said Sunday that the government will explore every opportunity to develop Linden as an ideal tourist destination.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the grand cricket carnival Regatta held at Blue Lake, Ali said Linden has all the elements to become a masterpiece high-end luxury eco-resort.

He said Blue Lake has nature, sand, water, and the space to build such a facility.

“Our objective here is to build a tourism product here with a host of activities all around Guyana using cricket carnival, our culture, and our geographic space as advantages and making the best use of the advantages and the competitive advantage each region has,” President Ali underscored.

He noted that the government is pursuing opportunities which are not sequestered nor reliant on one sector.

Dr Ali was adamant that the intention is for sporting events to become a major factor in the tourism sector with activities such as cricket, horse racing, squash, and football.

“So, I’m very pleased by the excellent turnout here and this is just the initial stage in building the masterpiece of a product. We’re going to work with some international players also to have formula one racing,” the president added.

He said the regatta event will help to showcase the different geographic spaces.

“A lot of people don’t even know this exists. People from overseas when they saw this, said wow, where is this? That is what we have to do in this phase to showcase the opportunities, to showcase the different advantages we have. And in that, I think it’s a great success, a grand success.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips lauded the efforts of the coordinators efforts in organising the regatta, while noting it should be an annual event.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips interacting with persons at the Linden Regatta on Sunday

“This is a good start; it has the tourism potential. As you can see, we have over 1,000 people. This should now be a calendar activity moving forward,” the prime minister stated.

Minister within the Housing and Water Ministry, Susan Rodrigues said she was pleased that the cricket carnival has expanded to host the regatta at Blue Lake.

“We see a lot of interest here in the regatta. It’s my first time at the Blue Lake so I’m very, very happy and I’m very impressed with the location,” the minister said.

She noted that there is much that Linden could look forward to as it relates to future activities and investments.

“So, this is one of those ideas that we can springboard from and expand to other races, the Formula E, for example, the electric boat racing,” she added.

Meanwhile, Public Works Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill said the atmosphere at Blue Lake is excellent for family-oriented events as well.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mae Toussaint Jr. Thomas, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Ryan Tulsiram, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Kamrul Baksh, and Captain Jerry Gouveia, also attended the event.