Travel agents visit Trinidad and Tobago to boost number of Dutch travellers

Travel agents from Benelux – a politico-economic union of three neighbouring states in Western Europe, namely Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – visited TT as Tourism Trinidad Ltd hosted a familiarisation tour from June 2–9. The travel agents are representatives from Travel World, ABC Travel, Travel Counsellors, and Untamed Travel.

Familiarisation, or "fam tour", is a visit organized by tourism boards to introduce travel agents, journalists, and other influencers to a particular destination.

A release from Tourism Trinidad Ltd said the agents had the opportunity to experience the sites and attractions, cuisine, culture, and eco-tourism.

The release added that during their stay, they visited Maracas Beach, the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, pan yard experiences and the Asa Wright Nature Centre and were also afforded the opportunity to sample some of our cuisine, which is fast becoming one of Trinidad’s most sought-after visitor experiences.

This exercise was geared towards building the confidence of these agents to book travel from the Benelux region to Trinidad.

The market includes travellers and is expected to grow in the coming years, driven by rising disposable income levels and increasing demand for unique and exotic travel experiences.

Earlier this year, Minister of Tourism Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell led a delegation to the Vakantiebeurs 2023 Tourism Trade Conference – one of the leading tourism fairs in Europe – in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to highlight Trinidad as a new destination to discover for Dutch travellers.

The release said a direct result of this interaction was an increase in visitor arrivals from the region which is being aided with the introductions of the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Trinidad.

Mitchell said, “This familiarisation tour is part of our ongoing efforts to promote the destination in international markets. The destination is currently experiencing robust growth in visitor arrivals from Europe, and the Benelux region is a key target market as the KLM Airline continues to service the route between the two regions. Our trip to Utrech was pivotal, since we meet some of these agents there and had opportunities to interact with Dutch press workers and really connect with region and the always present diaspora.”

The airline has accounted for a 92 per cent share of passenger travel from the Dutch market to Port of Spain according to Sabre Market Intelligence.

Dutch arrivals have been trending upward over the last two years.

In October 2021 to last March, visitor arrivals peaked at 12,863 compared to last October to March, there were 19,239 visitors.

Carla Cupid, CEO of Tourism Trinidad Ltd said, "The fam tour represented an important opportunity to showcase our destination to potential visitors and to build relationships with travel agents in the Benelux region. These agents are the direct conduit between us and getting seats filled. We are confident that these agents were impressed with what they saw and experienced and that they will be eager to promote our Always in Season message to their markets."

Travel Counsellors representative, Tessa De Roode said, “What an experience to travel to TT. Visit Trinidad had put together an itinerary, allowing us to see many of the highlights in a short time. Tobago was really a discovery for me, driving along the coast you see the most beautiful bays and beautiful clear blue water. Trinidad, the nature, the extraordinary birds, and the leatherback turtles. We were lucky enough to see the leatherback turtles in real life. The Dutch traveller looking for a destination full of adventure and off the beaten track has come to the right place in TT.”