T&T Tourism official calls for tourism to be given priority

As I was wandering through the early morning shows in Trinidad and Tobago, I came across an interview on CNC3 with Kelvin Kenny, the President of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Trinidad and Tobago.

The subject for discussion was the future of tourism in the twin island int he aftermath of the just concluded 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain.

During the interview, Kenny said he was not aware that T&T had adopted tourism as one of its pillars for economic development. He cited the inadequacy of incentives for local hoteliers to minimise risk and boost returns to ensure the survival of the hotel industry, and maybe expansion.

During the Summit two cruise liners were rented by the government at a cost of TT$120 million to make up for the shortfall in rooms on the island.

Kenny said though rooms were 100 per cent booked, up to February they were only 50 per cent booked and hoteliers were getting nervous.

He also called for a policy to manage the cruise industry. Cruise ships, he said, follow what their customers want and we have to deliver something interesting to them. Trinidad does not attract nearly as many cruise ships as Tobago, which he said, delivers the island expectations of the cruise passengers.

Speaking on T&T's bid to establish itself as the Conference and Convention Centre of the Caribbean, Kenny revealed that Cabinet passed a note to set up a Convention Bureau and someone will be hired to head that within the next month.

he said more investment was needed in that are and suggested that instead of large conferences such as the Summit and the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in October, smaller events be held such as the Caribbean Hotels and Tourism Investment Conference and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) conferences held in Trinidad last year.