Trinidad & Tobago Looks to the Neighboring Islands

A delegation from the Tourism Development Company and tourism stakeholders representing tour operators, accommodations and restaurants in Trinidad and Tobago visited the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe from November 15 – 20 on a French Caribbean Roadshow to promote destination Trinidad and Tobago as a culturally-rich vacation destination.

The roadshow comprised events targeting both the travel trade and consumer markets. The events planned for the travel trade were designed to better equip them to sell the destination while the events scheduled for the consumer markets were designed to generate awareness and interest in destination Trinidad and Tobago.

The delegation’s agenda included media interviews on morning shows and radio programs; one-on-one business meetings with the travel trade; a cocktail reception to meet with travel agents and tourism and government officials; and consumer outreach events at shopping malls, which would allow participating stakeholders from Trinidad and Tobago to promote their services through giveaways and special deals.

The T&T delegation met with Yan Montplesir, first vice president of Martinique, to discuss a collaborative way forward to boost travel between the two islands. Among the discussion items were airlift and how connections to Martinique can also be extended to France by leveraging the increased interest in Trinidad and Tobago.

The decision to target the French Caribbean was based on several factors. Martinique and Guadeloupe report higher per capita GDPs than almost all other economies in the region. With populations of 386,000 and 403,000, respectively, the residents on these islands have significant spending power.

Further, available airlift and point of origin data indicate an increase in visitors from the French Caribbean of 34 per cent from 2013 to 2015, suggesting an increased interest in the destination.

Representatives from the Trinidad Hotels and Tourism Association; the Trinidad and Tobago Incoming Tour Operators Association; the Small Tourism Accommodation Owners of Trinidad and Tobago; and InJoy Tours participated in the roadshow.

Source: The Trinidad Daily Express