54 <strong>TTBG</strong> 09/<strong>10</strong> (This page) <strong>The</strong> Boboshanti spa on Castara beach in <strong>Tobago</strong> (Opposite page) Tourism Minister Jospeh Ross
operate their properties; commercial decisions are frequently made for political reasons. While both <strong>Tobago</strong> and <strong>Trinidad</strong> presently boast a significantly expanded inventory of visitor accommodation in the form of guest houses, bed-and-breakfasts (B&Bs) and private homes, <strong>Trinidad</strong> still only has about 1,700 real hotel rooms, and <strong>Tobago</strong> no more than 700. In neither case can this be considered a critical accommodation mass. <strong>Trinidad</strong> <strong>Trinidad</strong> recorded 386,452 stopover arrivals in 2007, a 3 per cent increase over 2005; at 63,467 arrivals, cruise ship passengers almost doubled. <strong>Trinidad</strong>’s visitor potential is hinged on the development of its meetings and conference business, catalysed by Port of Spain’s position as the de facto commercial capital of the eastern Caribbean and supported by the opening of the new Hyatt Regency as a classic convention hotel. Its future will largely depend on the national business climate, since that is the stimulus which will drive its meetings and conferences. While oil and gas hold out at the right price, these prospects seem to be good, with the caveat that <strong>Trinidad</strong>’s crime wave is bound to dim Port of Spain’s lustre as a conference venue and neutralise promotional expenditure. <strong>The</strong> marketing of meetings, however, is quite different from the marketing of traditional leisure tourism. It requires the formation and funding of a Conventions & Visitors Bureau (CVB) to promote the destination to corporate and independent meeting planners, and to facilitate on-site event planning. This is now in the process of formation. With the Hyatt’s 45,000 square feet of flexibly designed meeting space added to existing facilities at the Hilton, Kapok, Crowne Plaza, Marriott Courtyard and Cascadia, Port of Spain is logistically well placed to host a broad range of meetings and conferences, limited only by the availability of delegate sleeping accommodation— two chartered cruise ships were needed to accommodate Summit of the Americas delegates in April. When the Hilton, with its expanded meeting space, completes its major refurbishment programme, and the Carlton Savannah opens later in <strong>2009</strong>, the situation will ease somewhat. It was estimated by the Convention Industry Council in 2004 that the annual value of the US meetings market was US$122 billion. That obviously offers <strong>Trinidad</strong> an exciting opportunity, but it is also an extremely competitive market, and in seeking to obtain a piece of it Port of Spain will have to go head to head with such major Caribbean destinations as Puerto Rico, <strong>The</strong> Bahamas and Curaçao, not to mention such iconic US cities as Las Vegas, San Francisco and New Orleans. In an environment as competitive as this, Port of Spain will need to offer a comprehensive menu of readily available things to do and see, as well as a satisfactory balance of meeting facilities and hotel accommodation. <strong>Trinidad</strong> hotel stock When it comes to new hotel developments, developers are notoriously cagey about sharing their plans. But there are a number of new projects, either under construction or with approval to move forward: • <strong>The</strong> Carlton Savannah on Coblentz Avenue in Port of Spain with 165 rooms is due for completion in mid-<strong>2009</strong> • A Residence Inn by Marriott, also on Coblentz Avenue, with <strong>10</strong>0 rooms, has no projected completion date as yet • <strong>The</strong> Performing Arts Centre Hotel with 60 rooms is due for completion at the end of <strong>2009</strong> • <strong>The</strong> Regent Star at Piarco with 120 rooms has a projected completion date of the third quarter of <strong>2009</strong> • A Cara Suites hotel, also at Piarco, has had its ground-breaking ceremony, but has yet to start construction. No date for completion has yet been set. <strong>The</strong>re are another three projects in Port of Spain in various stages of discussion or planning which, if completed, will add a further 400- plus rooms to the city’s stock. Two projects outside the capital are under discussion, one in Chaguanas and the other in San Fernando. But the question must be asked: are these the sort of properties that will be compatible with <strong>Trinidad</strong>’s declared objective of becoming an international conference destination? Some observers believe that, to achieve the required balance between meeting facilities and sleeping accommodation, and to fulfil the city’s conference potential, at least two more hotels are needed, of the size and quality of the Hyatt and Hilton. <strong>The</strong> completion of the Performing Arts Centre on Queens Park South will be a great addition to Port of Spain’s inventory of nighttime activities, and it is anticipated that a broad cycle of Caribbean cultural programmes, similar to those staged at the Mexican Folkloric <strong>The</strong>atres, will be developed and produced. <strong>Tobago</strong> According to the TDC, figures produced by the Central Statistical Office—still unacceptably tardy—show that <strong>Tobago</strong>’s 2007 stopover visitors numbered 63,000, a decline of 27 per cent from 2005 figures. Its cruise passenger count of 11,644 was 71 per cent down on 2006. With the global economic downturn the 2008 numbers are expected to show a further decline. Prospects for <strong>2009</strong> have also been seriously affected by the closure of the <strong>Tobago</strong> Hilton, which is expected to remain closed for most of the year while in-depth structural repairs are carried out. <strong>The</strong> loss of almost 30 per cent of the island’s hotel room inventory is bound to have serious implications for both sustainable airlift and market credibility. <strong>The</strong> basic concept and construction mistakes made when the property was originally built must not be repeated; proper foreshore engineering advice will be needed to protect the hotel and preserve its beach in the future. Since tourism is <strong>Tobago</strong>’s principal economic activity, the decline in arrivals is cause for 09/<strong>10</strong> <strong>TTBG</strong> 55
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