Chin Lee opens Tourism Park

A rainforest has sprouted up at Macoya. The Centre of Excellence has been transformed into a jungle, clothed in tropical foliage and inhabited by creatures like boa constrictors and macaws. On Wednesday Minister of Tourism, Howard Chin Lee, launched a Tourism Park for the next ten days of the school vacation to show off our natural habitats plus the attractions of our historical heritage. The display was part of the 2004 National Tourism Celebrations which target domestic tourists with its theme “Visit at home, Enjoy and learn!” The park exhibits the country’s ecology including its marine life and terrestrial wildlife, plus historical photos and exhibits on our national festivals like Divali.

The display includes live exhibits such as an artificial waterfall and living animals, information booths, audio-visual displays, posters, and special sound effects. Among the several tour guides manning the exhibits was Nyasha Spence with a scaled-down model of the world’s largest piece of brain coral which she said was as big as a two-storey house, and was located off Speyside in Tobago. In his address, Chin Lee said tourism directly contributed some three percent to our national GDP, and indirectly some 11 percent. Moreso, some 14,000 people were directly employed in the sector, while tourism indirectly created jobs for 58,000 people in Trinidad and Tobago.

Recalling a foreign diplomat querying how many locals had ever seen a scarlet ibis or a red howler monkey, Chin Lee declared, “Our marketing strategy targets also domestic tourists. Love your own!” He said he hoped the Tourism Park would restore a national interest in our local attractions. Dubbing our youths “slaves to indoors” who were tied to their computers and video-games, TIDCO acting president, Vishnu Dhanpaul, said the park could help youngsters reconnect with nature in Trinidad and Tobago. The park will daily run a number of tours to national attractions like the Asa Wright Centre and Chaguaramas.

As Warren Solomon, vice president of the Tourism Division of TIDCO, gave welcoming remarks he was interupted by a “heckler” who loudly complained that only foreigners were visiting our tourist attractions. A woman in the audience corrected him, saying locals too had much to see in this country including learning what was a “manicou.” It was all a skit, using actors to make the case for domestic tourism. Attending the launch were Black Entertainment Television (BET) Jazz Channel officials — executive vice president, Paxton Baker, and director of sales and marketing, Cybelle Brown. Also attending were Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Danielle Jones, and tourism mascot Leddie, the leatherback turtle.