[UPDATED] Tobago tourism secretary expects 40,000 visitors for cruise-ship season

SECRETARY of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris says Tobago is expecting an estimated 40,000 visitors for this year’s cruise-ship season.

She said 40 cruise ships will be coming to the island, 20 fewer than last year. The first is expected to arrive on November 5.

“Last year, we had a hugely successful cruise-ship season, with over 60 calls to destination Tobago, bringing over 100,000 visitors to our shores,” Burris said at a news conference on October 28.

“This cruise-ship season is a little bit quieter. We have just about 40 or 41 calls scheduled for this season between Scarborough and Charlotteville.”

She explained the reason for the shortfall.

“We get the majority of our cruises in the south of the Caribbean, home-porting in Puerto Rico, and right now there is an extensive renovation taking place at their port, so they are doing less cruise traffic over the next two years.”

Burris said once that renovation is complete, Tobago should see its numbers increase as a result of the new facilities and expanded services offered at the home ports in Puerto Rico.

“By that time, it will give us the opportunity to build our capacity to attract other cruise operators, so that we would have more than one person in the space bringing cruises to destination Tobago.”

She said the division sees a possibility for cruises to be year-round.

“That is something we are working towards. We feel that there is a distinct advantage that Tobago has, especially with the European cruise lines, who really want to go to destinations that are off the beaten path and not heavily (focused) on attracting American visitors.

“A lot of the more popular brands that people know about, they focus on the very short trips, the three-five-day excursions, and Bahamas, Cayman Islands and these places in the north do very robust business where cruise shipping is concerned, especially for the American market.

“But Tobago attracts a lot of Spanish(-speaking) visitors who come from Puerto Rico.”

She told reporters the division is paying particular attention to cruise ships, and to this end, a representative from the Tobago Tourism Agency Ltd attended the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Cruise Conference & Trade Show in St Maarten last week.

“I will be having a debriefing with that individual when they return because the idea is to continue to focus on attracting more and more cruise ships to the destination.”

In preparing for the upcoming season, Burris said some upgrades were done.

“Last season, we had some challenges with boats not being able to dock in Charlotteville because of bad weather and because of the condition of the jetty. So the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development, under which the jetty falls, they conducted some upgrades during the closed season. So Charlotteville should be ready to welcome boats again this season.”

She said the division has talked to entrepreneurs to ensure visitors are fully catered for during their stay.

“We are talking to the business community to get on board to ensure that on the days that cruise ships are in Scarborough that businesses are open, that people will be able to sell their goods to persons who are visiting.”

Burris said some tour operators also want to offer more options to visitors.

“Not just the tours that are done by the taxi association, but varying types of tours, immersive tours for persons to come when they are on the island for a couple for hours to enjoy and to be able to experience some of the more authentic experiences that the destination has to offer.

“We are looking forward to welcoming those visitors to Tobago for this year’s cruise-ship season.”

She said Tobago has one cruise-ship operator organising tours.

“That person brings the majority of cruises to the island, both Tobago and Trinidad. But it is our view that there is need for more cruise-ship operators...and there is need for us to help build capacity for more persons to bring in cruising because cruising is a very lucrative market for tour operators, for taxi associations, for tour guides...We feel that this is one of those areas that Tobago has a distinct advantage over Trinidad with our natural scenery, the easy accessibility to our assets, the sun, sand and sea and all of the things that Tobago has become known worldwide for.”

Burris said the division is looking forward to a “very solid” cruise-ship season.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

SECRETARY of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris says Tobago is expecting an estimated 40,000 visitors for this year’s cruise-ship season.

She said 40 cruise ships will be coming to the island, 20 fewer than last year. The first is expected to arrive on November 5.

“Last year, we had a hugely successful cruise-ship season, with over 60 calls to destination Tobago, bringing over 100,000 visitors to our shores,” Burris said at a news conference on October 28.

“This cruise-ship season is a little bit quieter. We have just about 40 or 41 calls scheduled for this season between Scarborough and Charlotteville.”

She explained the reason for the shortfall.

“We get the majority of our cruises in the south of the Caribbean, home-porting in Puerto Rico, and right now there is an extensive renovation taking place at their port, so they are doing less cruise traffic over the next two years.”

Burris said once that renovation is complete, Tobago should see its numbers increase as a result of the new facilities and expanded services offered at the home ports in Puerto Rico.

“By that time it will give us the opportunity to build our capacity to attract other cruise operators, so that we would have more than one person in the space bringing cruises to destination Tobago.”

She said the division sees a possibility for cruises to be year-round.