Hotel Assn head: Tourism needs its own ministry

Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA) vice-president Carol-Ann Birchwood-James believes the tourism ministry should not be merged with culture and the arts.

At last Wednesday's swearing-in ceremony for members of the new PNM Government at President's House, St Ann's, Randall Mitchell was appointed to head the newly-formed Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts.

Previously, culture and the arts were part of the Community Development Ministry.Mitchell held the tourism portfolio during the latter part of the PNM's 2015-2020 term. He had also previously served as housing minister.

With the borders still closed to stop the spread of covid19, Birchwood-James believes TT's tourism sector is in an economic slump and needs special attention, particularly in the midst of the pandemic.

"I am saying in this scenario here, where our tourism figures for 2019 are drastically down, I think you need a ministry for tourism alone so we can concentrate on building up our numbers of visitors," she told Newsday.

Birchwood-James noted Tobago lost an estimated 19,000 visitors last year."There is no reason to experiment here now (by adding culture and the arts to the portfolio). We need increased numbers."