Guyana's New Eco Tours Shaped by its Indigenous People

25.08.2023 - 14:31 / skift.com / Travel Experiences / Selene Brophy / South America

South America’s Guyana, one of the most densely forested areas in the world, has piqued the interest of U.S. adventure seekers with its remote expedition appeal. 

At a time when local populations are getting a larger and long-awaited say around the world in charting tourism plans, rising demand for Guyana’s hard-to-reach natural attractions is offering Indigenous communities the ability to choose the adventure-trekking path of ecotourism to build the economy. The alternative: a deforested, oil-slicked road to unsustainable hell.

In essence, ecotourism sees tourists opt for nature-based experiences, preferably in small groups, with the intention to observe and appreciate nature, along with the traditional cultures who live in that particular area.

In Guyana, a country rich in gold and oil, its Indigenous people have looked to eco tours as business models to stem any negative impact on its environment.

With tourism only generating some $215 million a year or less than 3 percent of Guyana’s total gross domestic product in 2021 (2 percent shy of its pre-pandemic level), it certainly pales in comparison to the more profitable commodities of oil and agriculture, with its unwanted side-effect of deforestation.

The discovery of oil off Guyana’s coast in recent years has turned the small Caribbean country into an emerging oil powerhouse, with an estimated 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil discovered so far. The International Monetary Fund says it is one of the highest levels per capita worldwide.  

But the troubled waters of neighboring Venezuela, largely a blueprint of how not to approach sustainability, swayed Indigenous communities of Guyana to explore the economic viability of ecotourism.

Guyana occupies a land mass 73,000 square miles (slightly smaller than the state of Idaho), with a population of just 750,000 people. 

The tiny village of Paruima had been thinking about creating a multi-day experience for a while. However, concerns about the negative social impact saw the older generation remain skeptical — keeping in mind this is the only settlement of Pemon Amerindians, one of nine indigenous groups in Guyana. However, they were forced to take notice when the younger community started leaving.

Films crews scouting for film locations in Guyana gave Paruima the perfect test case to see if tourism was viable for its 1,000 or so inhabitants, according to Carla Vantull, general manager of Wilderness Explorer.

Guyana Indigenous communities are governed by a village council, with a chief, also known as a Toshao, elected every two years. Therefore, there had to be a consensus when voting to bring in the tourism model.

The production of a six-part documentary unfolded successfully, and they found it