About Us

The Rupununi, a part of Guyana’s Administrative Region Nine is the ‘home’ of three groups of Indigenous Peoples: the Macushi, Wapishana and Wai Wai. The Macushi live mainly in the north, the Wapishana in the south and the Wai Wai inhabit the southernmost part of the region. The entire region is 57,979 square kilometers and it has approximately 20,000 inhabitants living in about 60 villages and the main administrative centre and town, Lethem. The main livelihood activities of the people of the Rupununi are namely, traditional mixed-farming, hunting, gathering and fishing. In the late nineteen century, cattle ranching became a major economic activity in the Rupununi, as Europeans settled in some areas. While the cattle industry has since declined, the ‘ranch life-style’, is still visible in most parts of the region.

Clearly, the main attraction of the region is its unbridled and intact nature. The area offers domestic and international visitors the opportunity to experience dramatic vistas, wetlands, untouched tropical rain forests, majestic rivers and savannah plains.  These natural habitats are also home to numerous species of flora and fauna and endangered species such as the jaguar, caiman, harpy eagle, giant river otter and anteater. Indigenous communities run some of the lodges and share their local knowledge and skills with guests, who are willing to pay a high price for this experience. The nature experience combined with the management of tourism by local communities is highly rated by tourists.

The region also receives the support of Visit Rupununi, a non-profit Regional Destination Marketing & Management Organisation (RDMMO) involving private, public and community representatives and operating in the Rupununi region as a whole. 

Visit Rupununi was established in 2015 as Guyana’s first RDMMO with support from Conservation International-Guyana (CI), as a response to a recommendation from the region’s stakeholders to have one body to coordinate nature and community-based tourism efforts in the region. Its mandate includes marketing the services of its members, offering support through training and capacity building, and representing the Rupununi as a whole. The organization represents the interests of regional, community and private sector stakeholders from all tourism and service-related sectors by facilitating networking and relationship building. The organization has fostered an environment whereby stakeholders regard themselves as partners and collectively articulate and garner support on issues which affect them.  Visit Rupununi has also established a brand for the region and increased its market reach within international markets in the US and Canada.

Additionally, the organization advocate, and provide input into the wider tourism goals of Guyana and works in tandem with the Guyana Tourism Authority, the Department of Tourism, and the Guyana Tourism and Association of Guyana by coordinating its programmes in the region. 

Our membership consist of tourism operatives within the Rupununi Wetlands, Lethem and South Cluster, with a vision “to develop and support tourism through capacity building, marketing, and awareness within the region while at the same time providing high standard and quality product that is diverse and safe, with strong emphasis on conservation of our biodiversity and the rich traditional heritage of the Rupununi”. 

Visit Rupununi is governed by an Executive Committee, and a Destination Management team which is responsible for the smooth running of the day to day operation of the organization.