All for the Tourism Park

ONCE upon a time, school children were taken by their teachers on “outings” during their long July-August vacation to different parts of rural Trinidad and Tobago, places of historical interest or scenic beauty. These were delightful occasions for the children, a welcome change from the monotony of classrooms, opportunities for “spreading their wings” and expending their youthful energies. However enjoyable, these school excursions also provided a different learning experience, exposing young minds to the country’s natural environment, its fascinating wild life and its scenic splendour. Many an older citizen will recall with pleasure going on these annual outings and the appreciation for their country they acquired from them so early in life.

With the coming of the “modern age” the practice of organising school outings eventually became extinct. Instead, our children “graduated” to watching television and tinkering with computers, among other indoor activities, during their vacation time, thus losing the vital contact with TT’s natural environment that school excursions once provided. We make this point in order to welcome the Tourism Park which Minister Howard Chin Lee opened at the Macoya Centre of Excellence on Wednesday. While it may not provide the open camaraderie of a school outing, the Tourism Park certainly presents an excellent alternative for all our vacationing school children to have a meaningful personal encounter with the country’s rich natural and historical heritage. The Park, expressing the theme, “Visit at Home, Enjoy and Learn!”  will reward a visit by Trinis of every age and, as the Minister noted, would hopefully restore national interest in the country’s natural attractions.

Aimed at that overriding objective, the Park, which will be open for the next ten days, may be seen as a timely and useful one, since the need to stimulate internal tourism, to have more Trinis spending vacations at home rather than abroad, is all too obvious. As Minister Chin Lee says: “Our market strategy targets also domestic tourists. Love your own!” As far as Trinis are concerned, loving our own is still a consummation devoutly to be wished. The point was made by a heckler who interrupted the opening function to complain that only foreigners were visiting our tourist attractions. But Trinis, a woman declared, had much to see, including learning what was a manatee. Her interruption was really a pre-planned acting performance, but it had the desired effect.

The Park, which takes the general form of a tropical rain forest, would also serve a vital purpose, in our view, if it attracts the country’s school children who are now on vacation. There is a critical need to acquaint our young people with the special beauty and wonder of our country, to instill in them a love and appreciation for TT’s natural and historical heritage, if only to balance the modern-day obsession with soul-less technological gadgets and the inanities of what is commonly referred to as popular culture. A similar point was made by Vishnu Dhanpaul, TIDCO’s acting president, who described TT’s young people as “slaves to indoors,” tied to their computers and video games. The Park, he added, could help youngsters reconnect with nature in Trinidad and Tobago. Now that school outings are a thing of the past, we sincerely wish that it would.