Tobago held in ‘choke hold’

But first things first. The very genesis of the problem, as in so many other things Tobago, is the politico-legal construct called “the country of Trinidad and Tobago” which has held Tobago and its people in a Trinidadian choke hold for over 100 years and has led, on the one hand, to Trinidadians subconsciously believing that Tobago is a part of Trinidad.

The fundamental reality is that Tobago, like Trinidad, like Barbados, Grenada, Dominica, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Kitts, Antigua, is an island in the Caribbean, with a distinct people, a distinct culture, a distinct way of life, a distinct economy. But the politico-legal construct called the country of Trinidad and Tobago has obscured this fundamental reality and has led to a perennial miscellany of mis-diagnosis and misdirections in the development of Tobago and its people.

Tobago’s tourism industry is one of the many glaring examples. Tourism is an essential contributor to the economy of Tobago. It plays no significant part in Trinidad’s economy. Tobago’s tourism industry is in competition for the Caribbean tourism market with tourism-oriented island economies such as Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia and the big guns, Barbados and Antigua. Trinidad, and its “tourism product”, whatever that may be, is nowhere in that picture.

The root problem to recognise and address, therefore, is that there is no such thing as a Trinidad and Tobago tourism product. Permit me to repeat. There is no such thing as a Trinidad and Tobago tourism product. And there should therefore be no mention of Trinidad whatsoever in the marketing and promotion of Tobago as a tourism destination. But much more importantly, Tobago should enjoy a level playing field in the Caribbean tourism market, including direct international airlift into Tobago, direct access to international capital markets for the development of its tourism plant and of course, unique and independent marketing and promotion of its destination, just like its Caribbean competitor counterparts.

Unless and until the development, marketing and promotion of Tobago’s tourism product is totally and completely delinked from Trinidad, and other aspects of the playing field are levelled, Tobago’s tourism industry will continue to meander along, an adjunct to a non-existent Trinidad and Tobago tourism product, weekly Ministerial visits to Tobago notwithstanding.

JH Charles

via e-mail