Chief Secretary: Tobago carnival oversubscribed

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said it is not likely the island will meet the demand for people wanting to come from Trinidad for the upcoming carnival, which takes place from October 27-29.

He made the statement on Friday in an interview with reporters after addressing a function to welcome to Tobago new Indian High Commissioner Dr Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit and director general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Kumar Tuhin.

The ceremony, hosted by the Tobago Hindu Society and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation, was held at the Canaan/Bon Accord Multipurpose Facility.

With just over two weeks to go before the carnival, Augustine said the event is oversubscribed.

“We know it’s heavily subscribed because the inter-island ferry service did put on additional sailings, and in two and half days all those tickets went completely. We expect the additional flights where Caribbean Airlines are concerned. But we know those would go in quick time,” he said.

“So we suspect, in this season, we will not be able to meet the demand for those wanting to come from Trinidad to Tobago. But it shows there is a demand for those wanting to come from Trinidad to Tobago. It shows there is a demand for something we continue to build upon.”

Augustine said Tobago must get air and sea transport right if the island is to get its accommodation numbers up.

He said during his recent visit to New York, many people in the diaspora were planning to come home. Augustine added he spoke to an organiser who said 300 people were expected to arrive in Tobago on Thursday for a series of events.

“We are very hopeful that the season will pick up as we get to the end of the month.”

Augustine said he attended the rehearsals for Friday’s junior calypso monarch competition and was very impressed by the calibre of the performances.

“I can say, by looking at the kiddies and their performance in stage and the band, I could say the culture is in very, very good hands.”

In an attempt to ensure safety during the season, he said Tobagonians can expect to see additional police and army personnel.

“A lot of them would be coming from Trinidad towards the end of the month. So we will have the manpower support that also includes mounted branch as part of the build-out as well.”

Unlike last year, Augustine said the THA has allocated a smaller budget – $12.5 million – for the festival and Scarborough will be the focal point.

“So what we have been doing is learning from every installation. We had the first installation and listened to what were some of the defects, some of the challenges and we looked to see if we could change those so that the product can keep developing.”