THA to address Thomas Cook fallout

TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles has said plans are being put in place to address the implications of the collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook on Tobago's tourist sector.

He said so on Sunday at the People's National Movement Tobago Council's fourth annual convention at Bishop's High School, Mt Marie, Scarborough.

Noting Thomas Cook had gone "belly up," Charles said his administration has not sat idly by since the announcement of its collapse over two weeks ago.

He said the THA and Tobago Tourism Agency are working feverishly to address the situation.

"We have at the level of government, at the level of the THA, have agreed to a particular set of incentives. The stakeholders have to come up with another set of incentives and together we will weather the storm."

Charles, who spoke on the theme, Reflections, said this may involve mounting a mission to the United Kingdom to engage in world travel market conferences with some of the airlines.

He expects a decision will be taken before the end of the week.

"We are not sleeping on the job. We are continuing to make hay while the sun shines."

The Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association has described the collapse of Thomas Cook as "seriously bad news" for Tobago's tourism industry.

To address the fallout, the association called for the establishment of an international in-transit desk to be established at the Piarco International Airport to ease the passage of international arrivals bound for Tobago.

The 178-year-old company shut down operations, more than two weeks ago, leaving thousands of its passengers stranded all over the world.

For Tobago, it means the island will no longer benefit from its winter Thomas Cook flight from Manchester, United Kingdom.