The Trinidad & Tobago Business Guide (TTBG, 2009-10)

Table 23 Arrivals in the Caribbean 2002-2007 by source market (million)
Market 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
% change
06/’07
USA 10.1 10.7 11.4 11.4 11.5 11.6 0.95%
Canada 1.3 1.5 1.7 1.8 1.8 2.0 12.5%
Europe 4.5 5.1 5.3 5.5 5.5 5.5 2.5%
Other 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.7 3.5 3.4 - 4.0%
TOTAL 19.0 20.4 21.8 22.2 22.2 22.5 1.49%
Cruise
passengers
15.9 18.0 19.9 19.0 19.2 19.5 +2.0%
Source: Caribbean Tourism Organisation; 2007 estimates; figures rounded to nearest ‘000,000
Table 24 Trinidad and Tobago arrivals 2002-7
Stopover 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Tobago 51,828 68,155 78,729 86,467 83,460 63,000
Trinidad 332,384 340,914 363,826 376,723 377,591 386,452
Total 384,212 409,069 442,555 463,191 461,051 449,453
% change 0.3 6.5 8.2 4.7 -0.5 -2.5
Cruise
Tobago 8,242 15,916 24,953 34,428 40,709 11,644
Trinidad 51,805 39,616 29,301 32,768 43,404 63,467
Total 60,047 55,532 54,254 67,196 84,113 75,111
Cruise ship 96 88 86 82 94 86
calls
Sources: Central Statistical Office, Port Authority, Tourism Development Company
Figure 25 Stopover tourist arrivals to Trinidad & Tobago by main markets (2006)
Source: Central Statistical Office/Tourism Development Company
or Advisory Committee, to be made up of
interested parties from the public and private
sectors, to coordinate development of the
sector. This has yet to occur.
The accommodation sector
Success in tourism is usually measured by
the number of visitors arriving in a given
destination. A better measurement would be
the revenue they can be induced to generate
during their stay. There are two practical
constraints to tourism development, and they
are inextricably linked, the first necessarily
driving the second:
• Available visitor accommodation
• Airlift from potential source markets.
Not only does the availability of beds
limit the number of visitors a destination can
house: it also determines the nature and style
of its tourism sector, the number of people
it employs, the revenue it can generate, and
ultimately its market reputation.
A destination predominantly composed of
4- and 5-star branded properties (such as Ritz-
Carlton, Four Seasons, St Regis or Mandarin
Oriental) will attract one kind of tourism,
while another made up largely of 2- and 3-star
properties such as Holiday Inn, Hampton
Inn, Quality Inn or Ramada will attract quite
another. A case in point is the way in which
the addition of the Hyatt Regency has lifted
the visitor profile of Port of Spain, and indeed
the whole country.
Of course, no destination can, or should,
expect to be composed exclusively of luxury
properties, since a balanced room stock,
catering to all tastes, gives much greater
market flexibility. It is crucial, however, that
the development thrust should give priority
to the luxury component, as this is the most
difficult to attract and will ultimately define
the destination’s international reputation.
It will also act as a potent catalyst for future
development.
The issue of government-owned hotels has
long been debated in the Caribbean. Indeed, in
places like The Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
and Curaçao that is how tourism development
began. There is a lot to be said for governments
shaping tourism by building hotels of the
desired quality in strategic places, since in that
way it can, and should, play the lead role as
architect of the sector’s development.
Having built them, however, governments
should then sell them as soon as they become
financially viable, with the proceeds going
into a rotating fund for further development
and improvement. Governments do not make
good landlords, no matter who they contract to
52 TTBG 09/10