GTA completes Hygiene & Sanitation Training

–8 participants from Rewa Eco-Lodge & Surama Eco-Lodge trained

Wilderness Explorers (WE), Guyana’s only Destination Management Company secured funding from the Canadian High Commission and is partnering with the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) to deliver a series of comprehensive, peer to peer COVID-19 training to lodges within the North Rupununi tourism circuit. Of this, during February 19 – 25, 2021 eight (8) participants from two (2) communities, Rewa Eco-Lodge and Surama  Eco-Lodge  benefited  from  both  practical and theoretical knowledge on hygiene and sanitation best practices facilitated by GTA and WE representatives.

These sessions which were guided by the GTA’s recommended Hygiene & Sanitation Protocol as well as the National COVID-19 Safety Guidelines trained four (4) participants of each lodge, particularly the senior staff, within the kitchen quarters, housekeeping, tour guiding and operations.

Participants were thoroughly guided through each session to ensure that they will be able to deliver  safe  service  when  interacting  with  guests  and  by  extension,  promote  safe  travel  in Guyana. Additionally, when they return to their lodges and communities, they will also be able to take the knowledge that they have gained and apply it to their day to day activities and also train their peers and community members. One area that was prioritised, which is a fairly new component in Guyana is retrofitting of tours. This simply means that participants were guided through their existing tours and activities with the aim of including COVID-19 protocols and practices to keep guests and hosts safe.

This training is part of the first steps to ensure the safe resumption of tourism operations. The pilot phase is being executed in the North Rupununi then onward to Central and South Rupununi followed by other tourism circuits in Guyana as part of a larger training project to create safe travel   corridors   and   restart   tourism.   Previously   trained  lodges  include  Caiman  House, Karanambu  Lodge,  Atta  Lodge  and  Mapari  Wilderness/Guyana  Truly Wild. The pilot phase comes to an end in April 2021 with the final two (2) lodges scheduled to receive training during March 6 – April 2, 2021.

These trainings, in addition to the inspection activities conducted by the GTA all support the tourism businesses with their preparation for safe reopening through the 2-step process which entails:

●   Submission of Business’s written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to the GTA for a desk review.

●    On-site inspection of Businesses to verify the implementation of the SOPs and approval by the GTA.

For more information on the GTA’s training initiatives visit www.guyanatourism.com  or contact Chetnauth Persaud, Training & Tourism Development Officer, at chetnauth@guyanatourism.com  or Tamika Inglis, Manager of Training & Licensing, at tamika@guyanatourism.com, or Candace Phillips, Manager of Product Development at  andace@guyanatourism.com   the Travel Industry Development Division (TIDD) or call +(592) 219 0055.