Georgetown : There is heightened focus being placed on preserving Guyana’s heritage. This aspect is among the many initiatives being introduced to develop Guyana’s tourism sector even as the country prepares to welcome thousands to its shores for the 50th anniversary celebrations.
Tourism Minister Cathy Hughes updating the Government Information Agency (GINA) said that heritage tourism is an important aspect of tourism development, and one which the Ministry will be aggressively promoting.
Heritage tourism can be termed as events and services which allow foreign visitors and locals the chance to experience, comprehend and appreciate the special values of a region or country’s heritage.
“We are looking at our forts, our historical buildings, and I am really happy to say that the city is being cleaned up. We are talking about restoring some of our historical buildings and the impact that can have is not just for Guyanese because we need to live in a clean space… I meet Guyanese who are excited about the way the capital city looks and we are taking it out to other areas in the country,” Minister Hughes stated.
This year, the Ministry plans to have part of the Georgetown registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Minister Hughes is of the view that this is possible since a similar undertaking was done in neighbouring Suriname.
“There is a part of our city that goes from High Street right up to Avenue of the Republic which could be certified with some improvements to the area as a walkway of world heritage importance…that can start from our parliament, St. Andrews Kirk, it comes along past our historic law courts, it passes the City Hall building which is of historic significance, it passes the Non Aligned monument, the St. Georges Cathedral, our museum all the way up.”
Guyana’s many national buildings have their origin in the periods of Dutch, English and French occupation of the country. Georgetown has many beautiful wooden buildings built in old colonial styles.
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