A small squall in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) appears to have broken out between two high-profile figures in the country’s tourism industry over the quality of its product, going forward, and the likely future of the sector even as potential visitors to the country for the tourist season ahead keep an eye on the current crime situation in the twin island Republic. The Thursday October 24 issue of the Trinidad Express has reported on a pointed difference of opinion between Tourism Trinidad Ltd. Chairman Cliff Hamilton and Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association (TTITOA) President Lorraine Pouchet who is taking issue with what Mr. Hamilton says is the likely bright future of the sector.
Widely regarded as globally one of the Caribbean’s tourism hot spots, Trinidad and Tobago has been, over several months, undergoing scrutiny in the regional and international tourism markets over sharp upswings in violence which, seemingly, is targeting sections of the business community but which is impacting on communities across parts of the country, as a whole. While it was the comment by Mr. Hamilton that prompted Ms. Pouchet’s response, local tourism officials ‘roped in’ the country’s Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell for criticism over what, according to the Express article, was a comment made by the Minister who, according to the Express article, “sought to paint a rosy picture of T&T’s tourism industry when in reality the industry is stagnant.”
“There is growing frustration with the stagnant state of Trinidad’s tourism industry, marked by repeated promises and minimal results. Many observers have pointed out that despite decades of rhetoric, the same issues persist,” Pouchet is quoted as saying in a media release. Whatever the various other deficiencies that face Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism industry visitor safety may well be one of the country’s primary concerns as parts of the country continue to be plagued by what, frequently, are robbery-related attacks by armed gunmen which, according to media reports, target sections of the business community. While high-profile businessmen have been seeking to turn up the heat on the authorities measures like evening cut-off points for some aspects of trading have been instituted in an effort to push back against night-time attacks.