TDC closes for good on August 21

The Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC) has officially ceased operations.

As such, until the TDC's three replacement entities are operational, the Tourism Ministry will; effective August 21, take over management of four areas of responsibility which fell under the remit of the now defunct State agency.

Those four areas are: Tourism Investment and Incentives; Cruise Passenger Visitor Services; Airport Visitor Information Services; and Sites and Attractions.

The latter specifically refers to the Maracas Beach Facility, Las Cuevas Beach Facility, Vessigny Beach Facility, Manzanilla Beach Facility and the La Brea Pitch Lake.

In newspaper advertisements published today, the ministry advised "persons with queries" to contact its Stakeholder Relations Unit (SRU) either by phone at 624-1403; extension 227 or 251, or by email stakeholderrelations@tourism.gov.tt

All of this follows Government's March 2017 announcement that it had chosen to close the TDC and create three separate entities.

The ministry described this decision as the Government having "renewed its commitment to boost the tourism sector as part of the country’s diversification thrust. The Cabinet, to this end, made a decision to create three (3) separate entities to drive the local tourism sector forward."

Trinidad's tourism product is to be managed by the Tourism Trinidad Destination Management Company Limited (Tourism Trinidad) while Tobago's will be run by the Tobago Tourism Agency, with a third agency to supervise both of these - the Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Regulatory and Licensing Authority.

"These three entities are intended to act as catalysts for the sustained development of Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism sector and present us all with a unique opportunity to move our tourism product forward in new and exciting ways," the ministry stated.

This past Monday, more than 100 TDC workers were officially served retrenchment notices. According to reports, the 45-day notice given in those letters would mean the workers' last day of employment would be September 28.

Per the August 17, 2017 date on the ministry's announcement that "the TDC has, without prejudice, ceased operations," the workers' official retrenchment date would be about six weeks after the TDC ceased to operate.