[UPDATED] Assistant culture secretary: 30,000 visitors expected for Tobago carnival

THE THA Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation expects more than 30,000 visitors will be in Tobago for the island’s third annual carnival from October 25-27.

On the Tobago Updates morning show on October 17, the division’s assistant secretary Niall George, said the event is shaping up to be a bumper one.

“This October carnival has immense economic value to Tobago. We are expecting upwards of 30,000 people,” he said.

“At a very conservative spend, if 30,000 people coming to the island and they spend $1,000 (each) – and that is a very conservative spend – that is $30 million coming into the island.”

Saying the carnival is already off to a great start, George singled out the Runaway beach party at Pigeon Point on October 16 as an example.

He said he attended the event mainly for work purposes to gauge the number of patrons.

“That was in the middle of the week, and Tobagonians usually don’t party in the middle of the week. And the number of persons that I saw there signals that we are ready. The season has started and it’s going to be an excellent season.”

George believes the other activities leading up to carnival weekend will generate further excitement.

He said while the Port Authority and Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) have increased sailings and flights, a large number of people still cannot get flights to Tobago.

“There has been a gradual increase in flights. But to me that is just a drop in the bucket and the flights aren’t announced. In prior years, they would have added flights, but very late.

“We need the flights to be added earlier so that persons could plan, especially international flights, because unlike in the Tobago space, most persons in the international space would have had to record their vacations as early as January 1, and our carnival is in October. So that would be very advanced planning.

"So the timing in which some of the flights are added is not good enough.”

He said CAL generally needs to increase the number of flights to Tobago, not just for carnival, but year-round.

“We are constantly in conversations with CAL about increasing the number of flights.”

George recalled after the covid19 pandemic, the THA had offered to pay to keep the ANR Robinson International Airport open to accommodate more flights.

“Nothing came of that. But if you are someone that has to travel, you would see the situation: many Tobagonians sitting in Trinidad waiting to get at home; many Trinidadians in the airport waiting to get back home as well.

“To me, that says that there is a demand, and I don’t understand why the flights aren’t being added. Probably the business escapes me, but I am just saying that if an airline runs at 65 per cent, it’s profitable, because I cannot tell the last time I was on a flight and (saw) an empty seat. So over to CAL.”

He said the division has been doing its part to market the event internationally.

“We receive jabs and blows about marketing, and really and truly marketing is about getting empty seats filled, and there aren’t empty seats.

“So from that aspect, we will have to use some of that marketing money in other aspects of the carnival, because if there are 10,000 more people wanting to come here, where are the seats? Where are the flights? How are we going to get them to and from the island?”

George said Tobago MPs Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis and Ayanna Webster-Roy have been “eerily quiet” on the issue.

“They are representatives of Tobagonians as well, and we would like them to join with us in terms of securing more flights for our people.”

On security, he said meetings are ongoing with all the relevant stakeholders, including the police, Fire Service, Tobago Emergency Management Agency and Environmental Management Authority.

“So we do not only want to have a successful carnival in terms of numbers. Our priority is to keep the Tobago carnival as the safest carnival on the planet.”