Jazz repot ready but not available to the public

The Comprehensive Economic Impact Assessment on the 2018 Tobago Jazz Experience (TJE) bdone by Ralph Henry of Kairi Consultants is ready but there is no information on when, of if it would be made available to the public.

Executive Chairman of the Tobago Festival’s Commission, George Leacock told Newsday Tobago on Friday the Commission has received the report and was in the process of compiling analysis and feedback.

“We’re not ready for public release of the report as yet. As regards reports of this nature, the person sends you a report and we are doing our analysis here. The Division of Finance’s Dr Hazel is doing his analysis and then we would meet with the producer of the report and then it would be sent to the Assembly,” Leacock said.

He could not say how soon the report will be made available to the public or if ever.

At an April 25 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) post Executive Council news briefing, Leacock said the Commission, in collaboration with the THA Division of Finance and the Economy had agreed to engage the services of Dr Ralph Henry and his research group to do a comprehensive economic impact assessment on this year’s Tobago Jazz Experience.

He said there was a need to know what the economic impact of the festival was for Tobago

Speaking with Newsday Tobago in June, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tobago Tourism Agency (TTA), Louis Lewis said that exit surveys conducted by the Agency during the period of the jazz festival in April showed that 81 per cent of attendees signalled their intention to return in 2019.

Lewis said that interviews were conducted at both the air and sea port starting from the Sunday leading up to the festival for exactly one week.

“What we did is that we had a set questionnaire that asked a number of questions from the patrons and particularly those who attended the jazz festival and we were able to get feedback from those who came specifically for the festival … We would have looked at things like the countries of origin, where they stayed, how much they spent, what they felt about the festival itself, the quality, value for money, willingness to return, recommend the festival to future patrons,” he said.

Lewis said that based on the report, those who complained about the festival felt that they didn’t get value for money, whilst 81 percent said the opposite.

He said the information he was divulging was part of a “bigger report that still has not been finalised as yet.

“Through the Festivals Commission, there was a consultant hired to look at the broad feedback on the festival, so what we did was just the exit survey part of it,” he said.

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"Jazz repot ready but not available to the public"

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