Duke calls for Tobago tourism-sector reform

PROGRESSIVE Democratic Patriots (PDP) political leader Watson Duke has called for urgent tourism-sector reform in Tobago.

He is also questioning the criteria used by Wanderlust Travel Magazine to assess the world’s tourism destinations.

This follows the news that the island has slipped from second to third place in Wanderlust’s rankings of the most desirable islands in the world. Cuba and Taiwan placed first and second.

The award ceremony, held on November 7 at the British Museum, was one of the highlights of the World Travel Market (WTM). The international trade show was held from November 6-8 at the ExCel London Exhibition and Convention Centre, London.

The Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards has celebrated the best in travel for 22 years and shines a spotlight on the travel industry's greatest stars.

In a post on his Facebook page on Friday, Duke said, “This decline in ranking and alarms about Tobago’s unclear tourism product raises serious concerns about the authenticity of Wanderlust's evaluation process and the state of Tobago's tourism infrastructure.”

He noted the Division of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation, which is the primary institution for crrying out the assembly's tourism responsibilities, oversees entities such as the Pigeon Point Heritage Park Ltd, Tobago Festivals Commission Ltd, and the Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd.

“However, despite this extensive structure, Tobago's failure to improve key tourism infrastructure casts doubt on the value of Wanderlust's assessment criteria results.”