Tobago's Coco Reef voted Caribbean's leading hotel

SEVEN awards were presented to TT on Monday evening at the 2019 World Travel Awards ceremony held at the Sandals resort in Montego Bay.

Coco Reef was voted the Caribbean’s leading hotel and also Tobago’s leading resort. Blue Haven, located in Bacolet, received the award for being Tobago’s leading hotel; the best Presidential suite and leading hotel in Trinidad awards went to the Hilton.

Avis Car Rental Co picked up the awards for best car rental company in both Trinidad and Tobago. Newsday spoke with Karl Pilstl, owner of Blue Haven, who said he is honoured to have played a role in the development of tourism in Tobago and the Caribbean.

“It is amazing what we are all doing to promote tourism. It’s interesting to see how tourism develops in the Caribbean. We just learnt that today alone, 55 international flights came in to Montego Bay. That is unbelievable.

“I know that Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of St Lucia (who is also a hotelier), he was looking at Tobago in 2005 trying to see why we were doing so good because he realised we had 14 and 15 international flights. What has happened now, is that we are just getting a few ­– not even a handful.”

Pilstl said Tobago usually has to wait for five months to register the number of flights seen in one day at the Sangster international airport in Montego Bay. “This is what is driving them (Jamaica), the flights. Either you have flights and tourism, or no flights and no tourism. That’s the simple formula.”

He said the issue also relates to the air and sea bridge between Trinidad and Tobago. “It is all about that infrastructure. Before you take care of that, don’t start in anything else.”

Asked about Sandals Resorts International pulling out of talks with the government to bring its brand to Tobago, Pilstl said the breakdown in negotiations in not good for the country’s image. He said he spoke to Gordon “Butch” Stewart, chairman of Sandals Resorts International who views Tobago as a beautiful island

Addressing those at the function was founder of the World Travel Awards, Graham Cooke, who hailed the Caribbean region for its resilience in being able to rebound after being hit by devastating hurricanes.

He said figures from the UN World Tourism Organisation reveal there were 1.4 billion international overnight stays last year - a new record for the Caribbean. The projection for the industry, he said, is quite positive.

“Over 5,000 new hotel rooms came onto the market here in the Caribbean in 2018, with 25,000 more currently under construction and in the planning stages.

“We are also witnessing an unprecedented surge in new airlift into the region, presenting more opportunities to entice travelers to the Caribbean shores.” He said while there were positive changes, there were also some existing challenges which need to be addressed.

“Airlift linking islands and offering multi-stop tourism is still a work in progress, because Caribbean destinations, far too often, compete when they could collaborate.”