Chinese tourists are welcome

TOBAGO Hotel and Tourism Association president Chris James welcomed initiatives spearheaded by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to encourage tourism in TT.

Last Wednesday, on his official visit to China, Rowley announced that once Chinese citizens hold either a United States or Canadian visa then they could also be eligible to travel to TT . The Prime Minister and his delegation also held talks with the HNA Group and Air China. HNA Group owns over 1,200 hundred aircraft, is a substantial shareholder in international hotel chains and boasts of being the largest tour operating company in China.

HNA Group has been invited to establish code sharing and interline arrangements with Caribbean Airlines (CAL). They have also been invited to submit a competitive bid to partner with the Government on the Tobago Sandals project once the tender process is initiated. Talks with Air China dealt with code sharing and interline arrangements with CAL.

Speaking to Newsday at an event hosted by the Tobago House of Assembly’s Tourism, Culture and Transportation Division at Cara Suites Hotel in Claxton Bay last Thursday, James said, “ It’s enormous market.” All the predictions of the World Tourism Council, James continued, “is that Chinese tourism is going to grow and grow and grow.” He said it is important for the country to, “diversify our originating destinations so that we don’t get dependent on a single one.”

With operations on the seabridge and the airbridge working well, James said hotels and guest houses in Tobago have been working to improve their capacity. He explained that Tobago continues to focus on attracting both domestic and international tourism.

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"Chinese tourists are welcome"

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