Shake-up in tourism

Sunday Newsday Special Feature

Newly appointed Tourism Minister, Howard Chin Lee sees his new position as challenging as that of National Security, and wants to treat tourism as being equally important as energy is to Trinidad and Tobago. In so doing, Chin Lee hopes to create a lot more jobs within this industry and at the same time, market TT as a number one tourist destination. With this as his focus, he said he aims to increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by a large margin, influence more entrepreneurs to invest in TT through tourism and double or even triple the number of tourists entering the country on a yearly basis. Speaking with Sunday Newsday at his new office a few days ago, Chin Lee said he had no regrets about the time he spent in National Security. He said the former experience has prepared him for his current position. In addition, he felt that with a Bachelors Degree in Economics and a Masters Degree in Tourism Management, he has the expertise which can be placed for the country’s use.

“This position is challenging in a different way in that in National Security, a great deal of our initiatives were supposed to change the way certain things were done and change the mindset into one that was tuned to the technologies of the 21st century, as well as the management approach to law enforcement,” he said. “The challenge in tourism will also be one that will have to change the mindset of the people from an industry that has been considered something secondary to the economy, to one that can be one of the major contributors to GDP as well as contributing to employment.” He said in other Caribbean islands, tourism produces as much as ten percent to GDP while in our country, it produces just 1.6 percent in comparison. “So the challenge is two-fold, one to encourage entrepreneurs, developers, businessmen to invest in the tourism plant and industry and secondly, to focus on the marketing of TT, to promote the plant and product that we have,” said Chin Lee. He noted that the tourism sector had to be managed from a business perspective, pointing out that one of the concerns for business people in the private sector, is whether or not there will be a greater rate of returns and are there enough incentives offered by the government which will allow them to have such rate of return. He said through legislation and existing legislation, government will make it known to private investors what can be offered to improve the tourist industry. Chin Lee hopes to provide easier access to private investors and facilitate prospective hotel builders, by removing frustrations in areas such as Town and Country Planning and drainage approvals.

$15 million to improve TT Ports

The Minister has also predicted a bright future for the cruise ship industry and its effects on the tourism industry, pointing out that for next year alone, there have been 74 confirmed cruise ships to visit the Port-of-Spain port. “Another area the cruise ships are interested in is Scarborough but in order to support the growing business in the cruise ship arrivals in the sister isle, the port has to be improved,” he said. Over the past two weeks, the German cruise ship ‘Aida Vita,’ the British cruise liners ‘MS Oceana’ and ‘The World, Residensea,’ have docked at the port for a short visit. He said, as a result, government has allocated $15 million to improve the docks at Scarborough to accommodate vessels in excess of 200 to 300 metres wide. Chin Lee said in addition, all tourist sites such as the Cruise Ship Complex, will be reviewed to improve their aesthetics and facilities to accommodate the arrival of tourists.

Chin Lee said another area of tourism that needs to be improved is service and hospitality. “This needs to be improved because we recognise that the service industry can be a major employer of individuals in this country,” he said. He said, however, one of the things which needs to be changed is the mindset of people, where they need to realise the importance of the tourist to our economy and by extension, the service we offer them which should be a reflection of that. Communications Specialist, Sherma Mitchell said this is currently being done through training programmes and will be expanded in the near future. Chin Lee noted that over the past ten years, there has been an increase in the number of people employed in the service industry with the number of restaurants which have opened up in the Port-of-Spain area, such as TGIF and Trotters. He said because of this increase in service in the food and beverage industry, his Ministry will be focusing on training and improving the level of training and standard of service offered to tourists. Chin Lee said, as a result, his Ministry is now reviewing a proposal to set up an improved Hotel and Training Centre in Trinidad and another one in Tobago. “If the population as a whole, recognises that form of employment can be one which can provide income for their families and see that this is the direction we are heading, I think we will become more of a service-oriented society,” he said. The Minister called on all the stakeholders such as the hoteliers, TIDCO, the private sector and all those interested in the development of tourism, to get together as partners for developing ideas to improve the industry.

No threat of terrorist attack

The Tourism Minister feels this country is a safe destination for tourists, despite an increase in terrorist attacks world-wide. Over the past year, the Al-Quaeda targetted several territories in which there were British ties such as Iraq, Turkey and Istanbul. Some countries are being targetted by terrorists because of the British supporting the US in the fight against global terrorism. “I think one of the reasons why the Caribbean has experienced an increase in tourism arrivals for 2003, is because it has been considered a ‘safe and secured’ destination, one which may not or has not been affected by the wars in the Middle East,” he said. Chin Lee said, so far, there has been nothing to indicate that this level of security has changed. In addition, Mitchell said all arms of the tourism industry, including TIDCO and the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), will be working closely with the Ministry of  Tourism. She said just recently, Chin Lee had earnest discussions with TIDCO on aspects of improving the industry.

Mitchell pointed out that the Ministry, TIDCO and the THA are very important tools and will all be included in all plans to improve the industry. The Ministry of Tourism and the THA will focus mainly on policy planning, while both TIDCO and the THA will focus mainly on marketing. “Tourism has so many arms in it, the airline industry, service, transporation and taxi associations, restaurant workers, everyone has to work together to improve the industry,” added Chin Lee. Referring to the recent Maracas Bay issue in which some of the vendors complained that they wanted to be on the car park while some remained outside the facilities, Mitchell said TIDCO is now developing a plan of action in order to resolve the issue. As for the lifeguards, Chin Lee pointed out that the issue was a matter for the Ministry of Local Government.