Getting TT’s tourism package right

In many ways TT offers the ideal tourism package: Stunning geography with history and particular culture, the urban experience and the best beach holidays. The big question is what we do with such a gift, not only for ourselves but also for potential visitors.

Unlike most of the English-speaking region, we have been in the fortunate position of not needing to rely on tourism for our economic welfare and are, therefore, behind the curve in suffering the full impact of environmental damage caused by having millions of additional people landing on tiny islands, outnumbering locals several times over.

We, however and sadly, have suffered equally badly from damage caused by myriad accidents occurring in the energy sector that have affected our seas and mangroves and even our food.

Other careless development practices have polluted our once pristine rivers.

As for the man-made, we have not taken care to protect the special, and continue to destroy what makes our cities unique and interesting. Imagine you have landed on a cruise liner for a few hours and have only three to four hours in Port of Spain, what would there be to see or do? A walk along the Lara Promenade is not inspiring, as most of the buildings now have little architectural interest, and there is even less to buy.

People-watching would be the preferred activity there. The National Library, Woodford Square and a few of the well-preserved older buildings hiding between unconsidered renovations of once distinctive edifices would offer some interest to the seasoned eye, and maybe the generally disorganised nature of downtown Port of Spain would strike some as “characterful.”

A trip to the Savannah area would provide a view of the beautiful hills that frame our capital city and the few colonial buildings would suggest something of our history.

The National Museum would be fun as a trip back in time to experience how exhibitions were curated a century ago, and if you were interested in art, well, missing the National Gallery would not hurt at all. For sure, the most fascinating aspects of our history would be off limits, such as Fort Chacon in Laventille, where Spanish naval officer and navigator Damian Churruca first fixed the point of absolute longitude that changed navigation forever.

And what if the cruise ship landed in Scarborough? Development in Tobago has been uncontrolled and unplanned and has spoilt the island aesthetically, except in the eye of Trinidadians, who perhaps provide most of the tourism revenue, thrive in chaos and do not seem to mind the haphazardness of everything.

Regretfully though, the character of the intriguing hilltop area, once the cosy heart of Scarborough has not been preserved, so after a trip to the fort overlooking the bay, it would have to be a road trip to a beach somewhere for the 126,392 arrivals the Minister of Finance mentioned in his budget speech (up from 48,878 in 2017).

In that sense then, it is just as well to also provide more nicely appointed, well ordered all-inclusive resorts of the sort proposed by Government with the Sandal’s project.

I don’t approve of all-inclusive resorts but I heard the over-worked Minister of National Security, perhaps in his role as Minister of Communications, stating categorically that the 1000-rooms Sandals will not be a conventional all-inclusive that will bleed the economy but, rather, will have significant economic impact.

TT will jointly own it with equity partners and Sandal’s will manage it to their own high standards. According to the Minister of Finance, we will receive $480 million in annual revenue from taxes etc, gain 2000 permanent jobs and acquire new linkages to the local economy.

If those projections are correct, then there is nothing to scoff at, except potential environmental damage.

In addition, with spruced up beach and parking facilities, new vendor booths, upgraded airport with more flight capacity to and from Trinidad and two well-kept, working ferries, we should be ready to pack them in.

Our Tobago tourism product will be as good as anybody’s.

But the tourism landscape is complex. On the one hand, seasoned travellers are avoiding overcrowded tourist sites, eg Barcelona and Venice, places like Antarctica have capped tourist numbers for environmental reasons, and others are banning cruise liners.

On the other hand, the desire for an authentic experience is growing, so that more people might want to come to learn how to dance limbo, play pan, cook roti or make carnival costumes, and Airbnb facilitates those who want to feel “local.” Alongside these, there are those who want to go to resorts for medical purposes – dental, cosmetic, therapies.

It seems, therefore, that we should keep an open mind about what our tourism product is and could be about.