Overseas-based Guyanese launches local search engine for visitors

As Guyana’s rapidly evolving oil and gas sector continues to attract multi-faceted investor interest, the government and private sector are beginning to throw their weight behind the possibility that this scrutiny will result, in a not too distant future, by an excess of attention in the tourist potential of the country.

Last week came the revelation that tourists keen to see what Guyana has to offer in terms of tourist attractions will benefit from a new communication tool, a booking engine named Kaietour.com, an investment of 60 million dollars by Salaudeen Nasurudeen, described by Newsroom as a “Florida-based Guyanese tech entrepreneur.”

The announcement provides one of the first indications that the government may now be ready to fully open the country’s doors to major investment in the tourism industry after failing to attract it for many years.

Kaietour.com seeks to open the door to more international tourists wishing to visit Guyana to experience the country’s famous but largely under-explored ecotourism sector.

A report on the launch of the new tourism communication tool indicates that the reservation application can be found on the Apple Store or Google Play Store.

Using Kaietour.com, potential visitors can locate, book, and make payments for travel to Guyana. It is expected that the long-famous inland landmarks, including the famed Kaieteur Falls, will receive increased international attention while generating revenue that will support funding for extensive tourism infrastructure. According to Newsroom, the booking engine will make it easier to locate “a wide selection of flights, hotels, car rentals, vacation packages, tour packages and taxi services.” The booking engine is also accessible to local tour operators, hotels, resorts, airlines and car rental companies.

The Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce has been tasked with raising the country’s tourism profile to ensure that the sector develops the level of infrastructure necessary to provide an adequate response to the anticipated increased interest of visitors to Guyana ; more particularly in the ecotourism and wildlife prospects offered by the regions of the interior. The minister reportedly said at the service’s launch that it had ‘filled a gap’ in the tourism industry while urging tour operators to maximize its use.

The investor anticipates that the service will come into its own as the country’s economy grows and more potential travelers seek out convenient services associated with planning tours to Guyana.