Invest in conventions

The call issued by president of the TT Manufacturers Association Roger Roach for the construction of an international convention centre – to host events like the recent Trade and Investment Conference (TIC) – not only reflects optimism in the growing role of the non-energy sector, but it also makes good business sense.

Speaking at the formal opening of the TIC, Roach suggested the event had outgrown its location – it was held at Macoya’s Centre of Excellence – and signalled the TTMA’s willingness to partner with the state.

“We are prepared to enter into a public-private partnership with the government in order to make this a reality,” he said. “What we need is for the state to provide ten acres of suitable land. The TTMA and its membership will bring its financial and other resources to build a world class convention centre in Trinidad.”

This is an idea which the state should consider.

Convention centres encourage community cohesion, generate business in their locations, attract business tourism, and support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

These facilities are also versatile enough to be put to multiple uses. They can, thus, be subject to diverse revenue streams.

If the state has unused land in a suitable location, it makes sense to put such land to productive use.

Further, facilitating more and more events like the TIC could be one way for the government to support the non-energy sector, a sector which is, as all the indicators suggest, growing.

According to Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon, official statistics suggest the sector grew by 12 per cent from $15.5 billion in 2021 to $17.5 billion last year.

While the Central Bank’s latest monetary policy report for May, suggested the sector displayed some sluggishness in the first quarter of 2023, there can be no doubt that there is a need, on a policy basis, to draw more and more revenue from this area as the country diversifies and weans itself off over reliance on hydrocarbons.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the effectiveness of events like the TIC is obviously tied to factors much wider than the holding of big, one-off events.

Ease of doing business is a traditional bugbear, but the lack of technological advancement in our approach to commerce is another.

It is worth tracking the impact of bringing businesses together to network on a scale as large as a convention, which can bring diverse players together for face-to-face interactions. But in a rapidly changing world in which companies increasingly rely on digital presences, especially in the wake of the pandemic, it is also worth considering the extent to which business conventions are relevant and viable. The overcrowding at this month’s event suggests they might still be for some time yet.

Not to be forgotten is the fact that conventions are also good entry points for new players to test the local market, something that can stimulate growth, innovation and competition. They might be a conventional way of doing things, but these events can still yield powerful benefits.