tidings
Good luck George
A ten-member Tobago contingent is in Grenada to promote the island’s inaugural carnival, scheduled for October 28-30.
Speaking to Grenada’s MTV News GD on Wednesday, THA Assistant Secretary for Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transport, Megan Morrison, who is leading the contingent, said Tobago was invited by the CEO of Spice Mas for an exchange program.
Grenada’s Spice Mas is being celebrated from August 8-9.
Discussing the objectives for the October Carnival, Morrison said: “It’s a unique experience that we’re trying to put out there.
“In addition, Tobago is a naturally beautiful country – we have fabulous beaches, historic sites, we are home to the oldest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. So we are becoming very much the event or festival island in our quest to become the biggest little island on the planet.
“I think there’s nowhere else to be. After you leave Miami in early October, come straight to Tobago. You’ll have an all-island experience going straight to Carnival.”
Asked about the challenges experienced along the way, she said transportation remains the main issue.
“One of the main challenges now is to get to Tobago. We are currently booked for October. We hope that some air carriers and some sea vessels will choose to bring passengers and so on to the island. While everyone wants to go to Tobago, getting to Tobago is the current challenge that the administration is working on and trying to figure out how to get people to Tobago.
She said that to date, talks are ongoing with two cruise lines, adding that while Caribbean Airlines is the national carrier, there is hope that they will also buy.
“Put in some extra flights and so on so we can bring people to the island.
“Grenada, also we are trying to do a charter from Grenada to Tobago via fast ferry, to experience the carnival in October.”
The main sponsor for the inaugural event, she said, is THA in their effort to foster the development of local entrepreneurs.
“We have promoters on the island, we have our local entrepreneurs on the island, music trucks – we’re trying to generate the economy in Tobago, so we’d like to inject some finance into those different entities. We have mass producers; it is our business to support these entities to ensure they are successful.”
And with the country just emerging from a two-year lockdown of entertainment events due to the Covid19 pandemic, she said people have been hungry for social activities.
“Yes, covid19 is still among us, I think our bodies have learned to adapt to that virus. Some people still choose to wear the mask and they are still taking precautions by disinfecting themselves… This has stayed with them and people will be careful during the carnival period.”
Recalling the last two weeks of the Tobago Heritage Festival, she said people came out in support, but everyone was adhering to health guidelines.
“We’ve had parades in the streets, different activities in the communities, I haven’t heard of a hit, so that’s good news. I think we’re adjusting and I don’t think we’ll be humbled in October.”
Discussing the trip on the Tobago Updates morning program on Wednesday, THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said there are several artistes in the contingent who will perform at some of the events and promote the Tobago Carnival.
“It’s also part of a larger twinning of the two territories that we’re hoping to do. While there, the team would also meet with organizers and planners and promoters and government officials from Grenada as well. It would also allow some knowledge sharing to occur across the space.
The cost benefit analysis, he said, is on two fronts.
“I’m not sure what cost value we can put on gaining and sharing knowledge, because that experience has a cost. But, on the other hand, we are exploring regional tourism. Tobago has almost always looked at two sources of input into tourism – we’ve looked at Europe, and especially in recent times we’ve looked at the UK and very little elsewhere. We have looked into Trinidad for domestic tourism, but we have never explored regional tourism.”
He said that during the next week, the assembly will try to meet with the Port Authority to continue a conversation started earlier this year about the possibility of charter cruises, regular cruises between Grenada and Tobago.
“We cannot just start from the port development site in Tobago, becoming duty free and then saying come to Tobago. What needs to happen is we need to do incremental advertising, engagement with our regional friends and family so that by the time we open…
“You have to first break into the markets you want to break into – let them know about the brand, about your product offering, and so by the time you open, you’ll have an inflow.”
The discussion, he said, is still in the preliminary stage.
