- Guyana to establish product shops at international airports
The Guyanese government is planning to set up “Guyana Shop” corners at major international airports to increase accessibility and visibility of local products. This initiative aims to showcase Guyanese goods at busy global transit hubs like John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Miami Airport, and other significant ports worldwide.
President Dr Irfaan Ali announced this plan during the Guyana Marketing Corporation’s annual Dinner and Awards ceremony.
He stated: “We want to see a Guyana shop in the busiest airport across the world. I have already asked the Minister of Tourism to examine the possibly of us… having a Guyana shop at JFK, a Guyana shop in Toronto, Miami where you can pass through and pick up products of Guyana.”
The President emphasized the importance of storytelling in product marketing:
“Whether it’s agro-progressing products, whether it’s hammocks because every product carries a story. It’s the story that attracts persons to products. We are doing a very poor job at telling the story of our products.”
Dr Ali assured that the government is committed to investing in this initiative, which is being “actively” pursued. He added:
“As a government, we have to embark on buying shelf space and branding space on international shelf and regional shelf to take our products. And we are ready to make that investment. But that investment must be matched with our readiness to up our quality, up our production and to be sustainable.”
The government is also working on improving brand visibility for local products in domestic supermarkets. President Ali emphasized:
“We have to find a way in which local supermarkets must not in the back shelf, must in the most prominent shelves carry our local products.”
To date, 90 Guyana Shop corners have been established across the country, demonstrating the government’s commitment to promoting local products both domestically and internationally.
