THA: Tobago needs more family attractions

THE Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is giving consideration to developing children tours and family attractions to enhance the tourism and entertainment industries.

Assistant Secretary in the THA Division of Tourism, Culture and Transportation Shomari Hector made the announcement during a virtual panel discussion hosted by the division in collaboration with the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI).

The discussion titled "Rebuilding Confidence in Tobago's Tourism and Hospitality Sector" was held on Tuesday and addressed the existing challenges due to covid19.

Hector said children tours and attraction sites are on the front burner.

“I think that covid19 really helped us to appreciate the urgency of these types of attractions and amusements and so they are again on the front burner, and at the forefront of our minds.”

He said these plans were not triggered by the pandemic.

“I remember in the World Trade Show that I went in Cuba last year, I began having conversations with developers whose primary job was the establishment of water attractions and play attractions for children and families. Those conversations were brought back home and were had with my Secretary then at the Division of Community Development Assemblyman, Marslyn Melville-Jack and it was furthered with the Executive Council.”

Hector said the covid19 economic recovery team's work will aid in formulating a tourism plan.

“There is a post-covid19 recovery team working on strategic developmental programme which will also include sustainable tourism as a fundamental pillar or as a primary element in that proposal. So, yes, there are those considerations that are being given extensive thought to and the conversations are ongoing. The first draft of the report was presented to the Executive Council for initial consideration and we are expecting if not a final draft, a second submission in the direction of final authority,” he said.

Hector said Tobago is not immune to the pandemic and systems have had to be adjusted to the new normal.

He noted that the changes present challenges and the division has been working assiduously to ensure that all health guidelines are followed.

“We can all appreciate that the very current changes and the very current realities have affected the way we live, the way we do business, the way we interact, the way we socialise, and it has also helped us to adjust our expectations and refocus our vision. The truth is, that we’re operating in an environment where we can't say with certainty what life after covid19 would be like. What we know for sure is that it would be different from the life we enjoyed in the past,” he said.

Director, Product Development and Destination Management, Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd, Narendra Ramgulam spoke about the tourism communication strategy that would differentiate Tobago from regional and international competitors. Ramgulam noted that the current strategy is premised on the brand and the image of "untouched, unspoilt, undiscovered".

He said, “We are pursuing programmes that are in line with that brand and it is getting out there. In fact, we are going after Green Key (an international eco-label awarded for committing to sustainable business practices), we’re pushing Blue Flag (an environmental and quality standard award) aggressively as well. So, Green Key, Blue Flag, we are doing a lot of responsible tourism initiatives behind the scenes. I, myself, did some tree planting with ERIC (Environmental Research Institute Charlotteville) recently and we also engaged in some coral-planting activities as well. We see that as the way forward, we’ve been putting out a lot of press releases as well and our UK and Scandinavian travellers are biting and they are getting the news from it,” he said.