US celebrities for Carnival golf

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is pumping US $50,000 into the inaugural Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Charity Golf Classic. The event is being hosted by IslandEvents.com at Tobago Plantations Beach and Golf Resort from February 26 to 28. This was revealed by THA Secretary of Tourism Neil Wilson during the media launch of the event at the Tobago Hilton recently. Wilson asserted “it was money being well spent”, noting it was the first occasion for this year that the Tourism Division was providing niche-marketing support under the three-year Tourism Rolling Plan. The THA official said the Division has invested US $50,000 in cash in the event, and is  prepared to provide any other support that is required, in terms of ground transportation etc.

“One has to weigh the benefits of an exercise like this as against what it is likely to bring to the destination in the long term; and my own view is that it’s worth every single cent of it,” he told Newsday. “We propose to identify and participate in many more activities before the year is through. We are determined to ensure that the visibility level of Tobago is improved without cheapening the perception of the island’s tourism product,” he stressed. The Carnival Charity Golf Classic is targetting celebrities and other visitors who would stay on in the island after the two-day revelry. Among the television stars and other celebrities already confirmed for the event, are Ananda Lewis (MTV VJ); Dorien Wilson, of The Parkers fame; former professional basketball player (Atlanta Hawks) Dominique Wilkins; Bernard King, former New York Knicks player; Blair Underwood, of LA Law fame; undisputed heavyweight boxing champion, Lennox Lewis; Boris Kodjoe, star of the popular Soul Food television series; and Malik Yoba, of Girlfriends fame.

Some 120 golfers are expected to participate also. Director of IslandEvents.com, Douglas Gordon said they were hoping to raise some $1.5 million which would be shared between two non-profit charitable organisations — the Cotton Tree Foundation, which focuses specifically on assisting the poor and disenfranchised in the St Ann’s area, and the HIV/AIDS support group, the Tobago Oasis Foundation. Tourism Minister Howard Chin Lee explained that TIDCO will work in tandem with the organisers in marketing the event. He specially commended Island Events.com for their initiative in undertaking the golf classic and urged other private sector agencies interested in investing in ventures within the tourism sector to come forward and get involved. Government was quite willing to liaise with investors in this area, Chin Lee said.