Think bigger, Tobago

If Saturday’s Great Race failed to win the enthusiasm of the members of the Crown Point Partnership Association, it’s because they failed to see the potential of the event, even under covid19 restrictions.

The association’s vice president, Shirley Cooke, could think of no good reason for the powerboat race to be staged.

“Unless somebody could come up with some reason why…I have no clue on why this is taking place,” Ms Cooke told Newsday.

That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the value of media visibility in a time of social distancing.

The mood at the finish line was certainly quite different.

Dr Cyril Collier, a TT Power Boats Association (TTPBA) veteran, lamented the scene at Store Bay, pointing out that “Great Race is about Tobago and spectatorship, but there are no spectators.”

That wasn’t strictly true.

There were people watching, and they were unhappy.

The promised livestream was a disappointment, a hodgepodge of talking heads, amateurish graphics and inadequate live footage.

It was a lost opportunity.

Once it was clear that the livestream would be the primary engagement with the event, there should have been a push to create a visual event with resonance and long reach.

Measured by a yardstick of occupancy and visitor spending, the 2020 Great Race was never going to be a windfall for Tobago.

In every race across geographies, it’s the destination that’s held to be the desirable goal. For the Great Race it’s the finale, as boats roar to victory or sputter to ignominious defeat in the waters off Store Bay.

That’s a powerful and emotional story for any tourism narrative.

The Dakar Rally started off as the Paris-Dakar Rally, but the beauty of the landscape put the emphasis where it belonged. The race route hasn’t been used since 2001, but the Dakar Rally continues, synonymous with romantic automotive adventure.

Consider the perspective change that happens if, through a co-branding exercise, the event became the Tobago Great Race with a live stream that reinforced that perspective.

At the very least, the THA and TTPBA should have planned more effectively for the 2020 edition of the competition.

Well-produced streamed events have proven to be a powerful tool to whet audience appetites for a return to in-person entertainment.

Tobago’s tourism leadership should have been ready to participate in the plan to stream coverage of the event and to tie the island’s attractions to the race.

New footage and archival material celebrating the history of the event and its links with Tobago should have been ready and available for broadcast cutaways, broadening the event’s narrative.

It was a good race for the competitors, but with more strategic planning, it could have been a great race for everyone.