Increasing numbers of passengers are opting to pay a visit to Guyana as part of a Caribbean cruise, it has been reported.
Despite the current economic climate and the impact it is having on the global travel industry, research carried out for the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) found that visitor numbers to Guyana were up by six per cent between January and October when compared to the first ten months of 2008.
This means that, along with Cuba and Jamaica, the country is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the whole of the Caribbean, outpacing the likes of St Lucia, Dominica and the Dominican Republic in attracting tourists.
Speaking on the back of the publication of the report, Guyana's minister of tourism and commerce Maniram Prashad told Caribbean Life that these figures serve to justify recent efforts to place the island on the travel map, including a series of recent initiatives aimed at promoting it as a destination to
Caribbean cruise passengers.
"We have been vindicated in what we have been saying all along that Guyana has seen an increase in arrivals for 2009," he said.
As well as its beaches, Guyana is also home to some of the world's most biodiverse jungles, with the elusive jaguar among the rare animals living in the interior.
Written by Chris Smith