tidings
Clint Chan Tack
TOURISM, Culture and the Arts Minister Randall Mitchell is confident that Trinidad and Tobago will experience a boost in the tourism and culture sectors next year as it must endure the Covid19 pandemic, along with the rest of the world, for two last years.
In his contribution to the Senate budget debate on Friday, Mitchell highlighted investments in hotels, festivals and increased air transport as some of the reasons for a brighter outlook in 2023.
“We will break ground on a 152-room, Sheraton-branded hotel at Piarco Aero Park. This hotel is estimated to cost $156 million and construction will begin shortly thereafter.”
Mitchell discovered that a local group had recently purchased the Maracas Bay Hotel. Pending relevant approvals for his plans, he said this project will be “a $35 million investment in the 40-room hotel. That translates to 100 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs once it’s complete.”
Mitchell said the Asa Wright Nature Center recently signed a ten-year lease with an “accommodation operator” to redevelop and run the eco-lodge.
“This lease will represent a $10 million investment in the property. Work has already begun and is expected to be completed and (the center) ready to open on March 1, 2023.”
The Radisson Blu Hotel in Port of Spain will add 79 apartment-style suites to its current room stock.
Mitchell said hotel occupancy rates this year “have slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels of between 65 and 70 per cent for TT”.
He was encouraged that visitor arrivals to TT are steadily returning to pre-pandemic levels as well.
Mitchell praised international airlines such as British Airways, American Airlines, United Airlines, Copa and JetBlue for continuing their flights to TT. He said British Airways will fly direct to Port of Spain next year, while continuing its flights to Tobago.
He added, “There is a very strong prospect on the horizon of a new airline that will fly to Trinidad from Toronto.”
He was confident that this month’s Tobago Carnival will provide a much-needed boost to the island’s economy. Mitchell said the government fully supports the efforts of the Tobago House of Assembly to promote the festival and build on it.
Mitchell described this year’s Taste of Carnival as a success and a platform for the carnival to return next year. Reminding senators that the event cost $20 million, Mitchell added, “It wasn’t about profit.”
The idea was to give Carnival stakeholders an opportunity to work and strategize towards organizing a better and safer Carnival 2023.
From the perspective of airline and hotel bookings to date, Mitchell said Carnival 2023 is almost sold out.
He added that the UNC’s claims that the government was not paying attention to the carnival were false. Mitchell reminded the senators that Carnival is part of TT’s culture, its biggest festival and brings great economic benefits.
Touching on sports tourism, he highlighted the Commonwealth Youth Games and the continuation of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket among some of the major sporting events that TT will host next year.
Against this backdrop, Mitchell declared: “We have no time to waste in opposition. We have work to do.”
