Tell world about Tobago

THE EDITOR: Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association president Alpha Lorde has accused Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) of strangling the island’s economy by increasing flights to regional destinations at the expense of the domestic route.

Nothing can be further from the truth. The truth is many unused seats are not taken up by the domestic tourists. Figures reveal that in 2023, from Port of Spain to Tobago, there were 31,667 unused seats. For the same period from Tobago to Trinidad there were 37,509 unused seats. That’s a total of 69,176. Do the maths at $400 per seat. That’s a loss!

Lorde must liaise with the Tobago Tourism Authority to market the island. International tourists bring much needed foreign currency to the island. Apparently Tobago is not well known to international travellers. The cruise ship arrivals account for a drop in the bucket to assist the Tobago economy. But then again, what does Tobago have to offer the discerning international tourists? The usual suspects of the Buccoo Reef, Nylon Pool and No Man’s Land tours must be expanded and enhanced. They are also deep-sea diving, fishing tours, rainforest tours, Concordia Estate walking tour, Little Tobago tour and the character bioluminescence tour. How can we let the world know about these?

The Government spends $4.5 billion a month to run TT. Tobago receives $200 million monthly from the Treasury (Colm Imbert, Exodus panyard, Conversation’s with the Prime Minister). How much goes towards tourism?

In a recent survey of the 23 most popular Caribbean destinations, St Vincent, Dominica and St Kitts/Nevis made the cut. In fact, St Lucia came first and Antigua came second (YouTube).

Tobago did not make the cut. Why? International tourists do not want to go to Tobago. Why? Why aren’t we making the tourism experience phenomenal?

It’s much more than sun, sea and sand.

Come on THA, spend that monthly subvention of $200 million wisely. Let Tobago be known to the world.

JOHN JESSAMY

Fyzabad