THA committed to tourism revitalisation

The tourism sector has faced its fair share of challenges over the last few years, but the Tobago House of Assembly is committed to plans for growth, especially through the Tobago Tourism Agency (TTA).

In presenting the THA 2018/2019 budget statement on Monday fiscal at the THA Chamber in Scarborough, Jack, in a budget request for $4.74 billion, announced a $381.1 million allocation for Tourism. In terms of recurrent expenditure, TTA was allocated $141.4 million, the Tobago Hospitality Tourism Institute was allocated $15 million, assistance to cultural groups was set at $2.5 million, and assistance to a Sport Tourism Organisation was put at $2 million.

Expenditure on infrastructural works at Pigeon Point was set at $9.1 million, while works at Manta Lodge was set at $8.3 million. For the still to be established Lure Wildlife Nature Park, $7.5 million was allocated while construction of Fort King George Heritage Park was allocated $6.4 million. Construction of beach facilities at Englishman’s Bay was allocated $2 million and cruise ship berths will get $2 million.

Jack said the TTA was set up last year to spearhead revitalization efforts, its mandate being to deal with marketing and repositioning of Tobago as a premier tourism destination.

“The Agency convened stakeholder consultations which informed the development of a three-year Road Map for growth. This Road Map sets an aggressive target to increase tourist arrivals to Tobago by over 90 per cent, and on-island expenditure over the next three years. The Road Map focuses primarily on areas of product development and destination marketing supported by a carefully crafted airlift and cruise strategy,” he said.

Jack listed several initiatives outlined in the Road Map including a comprehensive product audit on all tourism sites, attractions and accommodation; rehabilitation of sensitive marine areas and the pursuit of international certification such as Blue Flag; improvement of tourism-related infrastructure around Tobago: better signage; upgrades to nature trails; beautification of Scarborough and upgrade and restoration of beach facilities.

He also noted plans to upgrade to existing accommodation facilities through the Tourism Accommodation Upgrade Programme (TAUP) and other initiatives; and enhanced customer service training throughout the tourism industry facilitated by the Tobago Tourism and Hospitality Institute.

In terms of marketing, he said key initiatives in the Road Map were rebranding of the destination to ensure Tobago was differentiated in the market place, continuous monitoring of key performance indicators such as visitor arrivals and visitor expenditure, review of key niche markets as well as potential target markets to develop strategic marketing programmes to drive incremental business.

Jack said the TTA Road Map also talks about development of a cooperative marketing programme with hotels and other stakeholders to enhance overall marketing spend; and development of a new online and social media campaign as well as the creation of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to support all marketing initiatives.

Jack also spoke of culture as a contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that Tobago has a rich cultural heritage and there is a need for us to realise the economic benefits to be derived from this.”

“Over the years, we have invested significantly in our culture by providing financial and technical support. We have also scheduled a number of events and festivals on the island’s growing events calendar.

“However, we now need to leverage our cultural resources even more effectively to propel our own economic development. It is therefore important that we fully exploit all the natural, yet largely untapped synergies which exist between culture and other key sectors of our economy, particularly tourism and manufacturing,” he said.

He said over the next fiscal year, as part of a broader strategy to monetise the culture, the THA would provide greater technical and financial support to allow cultural practitioners to showcase their products in local, regional and international markets.

Jack also spoke of plans to support culture in the education curriculum, promoting careers, introducing vocational programmes to train our practitioners, provide greater financial support and training to existing and potential entrepreneurs, support existing festivals and encouraging development of new ones.