Q & A with Warren Solomon, Tourism Director for the Tobago Legislative Assembly
Q & A with Warren Solomon, Tourism Director for the Tobago Legislative Assembly
The Caribbean Week in New York provided the perfect backdrop to rekindle contacts with some of the region’s tourism directors, commissioners and ministers. Following the Caribbean Marketing Conference, we sat down with Warren Solomon, a man who has deservedly earned the respect of travel industry execs in his native Trinidad after his successful tenure at the helm of the Tourism and Industrial Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TIDCO).
In his early years, Mr. Solomon studied Spanish at the University of Salamanca and he’s head over heels in love with Caribbean rhythms, scuba diving and sustainable tourism, activities that are currently getting a big leg up in Tobago. This interview was made on June 23, 2010 in the wake of the Caribbean Week in New York.
What’s the latest news in Tobago as far as events are concerned?
We’ve had a very active event season in Tobago. In March, for instance, we held the Tobago Jazz Festival that was followed by the Fashion Week, a gathering that brought together designers from Tobago, other Caribbean islands and the U.S. And then we had the Culinary Festival in June that combined the excellence of our cuisine with a number of leisure options.
Also in June, we held the Tobago Underwater Carnival that featured scuba diving activities around the island and a massive turnout of local, American and European divers, as well as international news media organizations.
Does Tobago rely on Trinidad’s spices for its own cuisine?
We have a combination of both. The Culinary Festival, for example, showcased the original blends that define our offers: the local cuisine, the Creole style in the preparation of foodstuffs, the more international touch provided by some restaurant chefs, though always based on the local flavors and tastes. It’s a very luring blend of recipes and cooking manners.
What’s the difference between Trinidad’s and Tobago’s cuisines?
Sometimes those differences lie only in the preparation, the products used in cooking. In October we held the Blue Food Festival, completely devoted to the preparation of dishes made of dasheen, a very popular root vegetable among us. You can find either dasheen ice cream or cakes… everything! And not to mention breadfruit; our breadfruit pie is the very best in the whole Caribbean. Eating in Tobago is quite an experience…
What other events are in store for this year?
We’re going to pay more attention to the wedding and honeymoon market, and we’re working on the preps for a symposium on that topic.
What about the end of the year?
In October, as I said, we’ll be holding the Blue Food Festival and a couple of minor events, like the Village Harvest that takes place in different communities across the island and where everyone may attend absolutely free. It’s all about going around the communities at the end of their harvests and spending time with the local population there, enjoy their food and drinks, their traditions.
Sometimes locals are not very happy when people take pictures of them. They might even be offended by that.
Tobago is one of the islands where you see is what you get. It’s now that we’re holding more events with our minds set on the tourists rather than on the natives of Trinidad and Tobago. Culture and traditions carry a weight of their own there. People, from all villages and towns, are also very important. They protect their traditions and not all Caribbean people react in the same way. Since everything here is so genuine, the best thing that you can do is ask for permission before taking a picture.
