Georgetown: The BBWF is being dubbed as the ‘international wildlife event of the year’ and it is the world’s largest bird fair or festival organized by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. This year, Birdfair celebrated its 25th anniversary and Guyana has been attending for the past nine years. Birdfair attracts over 300 exhibitors and over 25,000 birdwatchers, nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, conservationists, etc from all over the world.
Guyana’s participation at the BBWF from 2005 – 2011 was funded by the Guyana Sustainable Tourism Initiative (GSTI) a partnership between USAID and the GTA. With the culmination of USAID’s support for tourism in 2012, management and ownership of Guyana’s booth was transferred to the Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana.
Bird watching is one of Guyana’s most successful niche products and the market for bird watching is growing.
Guyana’s participation and team at the Birdfair comprised: Wilderness Explorers – Tony Thorne and Claire Antell (representing THAG, Iwokrama, Surama, CATS, Rewa, Karanambu, Yupukari, Rockview, etc) Guyana Tourism Authority – Indranauth Haralsingh Rupununi Trails – (representing the Wai Wai and Dadanawa) The Guyana High Commission – Mr. Carl Brown Specialist Bird Guide – Mr. Luke Jhonson could not attend since he was not successful in obtaining a UK entry visa.
IMPACT/OUTCOME/ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Birdfair 2013 was a very successful one for Guyana in that our major objectives of promoting Guyana as a top bird watching destination, securing new leads, networking and obtaining feedback, delivering a presentation on Guyana’s biodiversity, hosting a Guyana Summer Destination Presentation Event, identifying potential tour operators/travel writers for a Guyana FAM trip, etc were achieved.
Booth Attendance
Hundreds of persons visited and interacted with the team in the Guyana booth per day. Many were satisfied birdwatchers who had visited Guyana; others were very interested in Guyana and are planning holidays; many want to visit a second time but want tailor made packages; many came seeking information and to sample the El Dorado Rum. Many visited because of the rising popularity of Guyana as a birding hotspot and as an off the beaten path birding destination with top species such as the Harpy Eagle, Red Siskin, Sun Parakeet, etc along with amazing wildlife. The booth was also used as the venue for several meetings with tour operators and potential visitors and was a great forum and platform for networking.
International Sales Channel
There was a record 18 international tour operators proactively selling, promoting and advertising destination Guyana at the Birdfair through their catalogues and websites compared with 1 operator eight years ago. Tours are being advertised for Guyana in 2013, 2014 and 2015. This represents U$ millions in PR and advertising for Guyana. The impressive list includes:
Most of these companies came of a FAM trip to Guyana sometime ago and were convinced to sell destination Guyana. This market led approach is the best model for Guyana and has provided the best ROI.
A presentation titled Birds, Mammals, Reptiles and Forest: A look at Biodiversity in Guyana was presented by Tony Thorne to an audience of about 80 persons. This presentation promoted Guyana as a wildlife rich and pristine destination worth exploring and visiting. This was well received as bird watchers are also keen to watch other wildlife on a birding trip. This kind of presentation helps to position and differentiate Guyana from its competitors.
Leads Developed – Potential operators interested in selling Guyana
A number of key meetings were held with potential new tour operators (and former operators) who have a keen interest in selling destination Guyana. Expanding our sales and distribution network is critical to the growth and development of birding in Guyana. Fourteen companies and tour operators who have a high interest in selling Guyana are as follows:
Proposed Wildlife Festival – GUYANA 2015
The GTA and Wilderness Explorers met with Cox & Kings on Tuesday August 20th to discuss a proposed Wildlife Festival in Guyana in 2015. This event will have the participation of world famous wildlife experts, travel writers and authors (publications) and photographers and will run for 8 – 10 days. This festival will feature wildlife workshops and lectures, photography workshops, travel writing workshops and art workshops and will serve to attract the high end bird watchers from across the world. It will also help to raise the destination profile and help to position Guyana as a top birding and wildlife destination. Cox & Kings will be partners and will help to organize this signature event.
Proposed Guyana Wildlife Themed Event/Evening with Travel Agents – March 2014 in London
The GTA and Wilderness Explorers also discussed this proposal with Cox & Kings scheduled for March 2014 in London to which over 500 Travel Agents and Tour Operators would be invited (a paid event). World renowned wild life speakers will be invited to speak about and promotes Guyana; there will be a Guyana tourism stand (GTA, Tour Operators, materials, dvds, etc) with cocktails and Guyanese cuisine and music; a Q &A session, prize giveaway, etc This event will help to build a sales network, educate and train travel agents as destination specialists and create destination awareness to a high end and select market for Guyana.
Guyana Summer Event/Destination Presentation-LONDON
The GTA collaborated with Wilderness Explorers, DDL, Iwokrama, Surama , Rockview, CATS, Cara Lodge, Rewa Eco Lodge, Bradt Guides and other partners to host a post- birdfair Guyana Summer Event/Destination Presentation at the University Women’s Club in Mayfair, London to a select invited audience of about seventy persons representing key tour companies, travel agents, travel writers, the BBC, conservationists, media, tourist boards, the CTO, etc. Key speakers included:
Ms. Carol Hay – Director of the UK and CTO European Chapters
Mr. Jeppe Klockareson – A sustainable tourism expert and Wilderness Explorer’s Nordic Representative. He was on a recent FAM trip to Guyana in May 2013 and presented on sustainable tourism in Guyana.
Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh – GTA’s Director – Overview and update on tourism and other developments in Guyana
Mr. Tony Thorne – Managing Director Wilderness Explorers – updates on Wilderness Explorers
Mr. Chris Leadbeater – Award Winning Journalist from the UK who spoke and promoted Guyana as one of his best and most memorable vacations. He was on a FAM trip of Guyana in 2007.
Guyana’s High Commissioner to London, Mr. Lalleshwar Singh welcome all invitees whilst Guyanese flutist Mr. Keith Waithe entertained the audience with ‘Sounds of Guyana’.
This was a major networking event and serves to foster and strengthen the existing relations between Guyana and its numerous ambassadors in the UK.
Birding and other Collateral Materials
A variety of birding and destination collateral materials (brochures, guides, maps) were available for distribution. Wilderness Explorers launched its new destination planner which is its main marketing tool and sales brochure. The GTA launched the publication ‘Butterflies of Iwokrama and the North Rupununi Communities’ in response to numerous inquiries for BUTTERFLY WATCHING trips/tours. New brochures and itineraries from Dagron Tours and Rupununi Trails also complemented the variety of tourism literature distributed. The Explore Guyana Magazine, Bradt Guyana Guides, Guyana Where & What along with catalogues from tour operators selling destination Guyana were also available for distribution and display.
Booth Cocktail Events
El Dorado Rum tasting and finger foods/snacks were offered for a few hours each day to booth visitors. El Dorado is a world famous and award winning brand and rum which has generated and created positive destination image, branding and awareness for Guyana.
Feedback
• Several Tour Operators revealed that Destination Guyana generated significant inquires from their stand/booth
• Birdwatchers are also interested in other wildlife, mammals, insects, culture, community tourism experiences
• The Harpy Eagle is one of the most sought after birds in Guyana
• Guyana offers a genuine indigenous and community tourism experience
• All tour operators (visited) were aware of Guyana as a top bird watching destination
• Very positive feedback on the excellent quality of birding guides in Guyana
• All operators agree that bird watching is growing and that South America is a very sought after destination
• Several bird watchers are interested in tailor made holidays for small groups and individuals
• Numerous inquiries on the availability of birding guides for independent bird watchers
• Tour Operators usually change destinations to cater for repeat clients
• Tour Operators expressed the need to periodically receive updated information on a destination
• Birdwatchers rate as most important – quality/availability of guides, specific information on birds/wildlife/nature, safety, infrastructure and flight access.
• Poor air accessibility to Guyana and flight connections continue to negatively impact Guyana as a bird watching destination
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