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World Travel & Tourism Council
Spells Out Policy Recommendations for
Trinidad and Tobago to Tap Travel &
Tourism Potential
September 21, 2005,
Port of Spain, Trinidad &endash; Today,
the World Travel & Tourism Council
(WTTC) presented the results of its
economic and policy research on the
Trinidad and Tobago Travel & Tourism
economy to Senator Howard Chin Lee,
Minister of Tourism, Trinidad and Tobago
and the country's Travel & Tourism
community.
The research contained
economic projections for the growth of
Travel & Tourism in Trinidad and
Tobago and a series of policy
recommendations intended to maximize the
potential of Travel & Tourism to the
islands' economy and tap its position as a
leading catalyst for economic development
and job creation.
In Trinidad and Tobago
for 2005, WTTC is forecasting:-
? Demand: Encompassing
all components of Travel & Tourism
consumption, investment, government
spending and exports to grow 8 per cent
(real terms) and total US$2,616 million
(TT$ 16,481 million) in 2005. The
ten-year annualized growth (2006-2015)
forecast is 5.2 per cent per annum, making
Trinidad and Tobago the second fastest
growing Travel & Tourism economy in
the Caribbean, after Grenada which is
recovering from last year's Hurricane
Ivan.
? Visitor Exports:
Spending by inbound international visitors
is expected to total TT$3287 million in
2005, representing 5.5 per cent of total
exports. In Tobago alone, visitor exports
are expected to total TT$257 million
(US$40.8 million) which represents 95.9
per cent of the island's total
exports.
? Gross Domestic
Product (GDP): Travel & Tourism's
contribution to Trinidad and Tobago's
economy is illustrated by the direct
industry impact of 4.8 per cent of total
GDP and the combined direct and indirect
impact of the Travel & Tourism economy
which is expected to total 13.8 per cent
in 2005.
? Employment: The
Trinidad and Tobago Travel & Tourism
industry is expected to account for 33,771
jobs or 5.8 per cent of total employment
in 2005. The broader perspective of
the Travel & Tourism economy (direct
and indirect), which includes the
spillover employment associated with
industry capital investment and government
spending, is expected to account for
96,539 jobs dependent on Travel &
Tourism or 16.7 per cent of total
employment. In Tobago, the Travel
& Tourism economy is expected to
account for 14,800 jobs in 2005, of 56.8
per cent of total employment on the
island. In general, Tobago's
employment produced from Travel &
Tourism is nearly four times more intense
than that of Trinidad.
In order for Trinidad
and Tobago to realize its potential in
Travel & Tourism, WTTC's principal
policy recommendations
included:
·
Identify and recognize the Travel &
Tourism potential in Trinidad as well as
Tobago.
·
Establish a National Convention Bureau
(NCB) to manage all of MICE business for
Trinidad & Tobago
·
Provide a one-stop shop for Travel &
Tourism investors to reduce bureaucracy
and streamline the process
·
Raise awareness of the economic and social
benefits of Travel & Tourism
throughout all levels of the
population
·
Update the Tourism Satellite Account on a
yearly basis to ensure that adequate data
is available to factor Travel &
Tourism in to economic and employment
strategies
·
Implement strategic plans through a strong
Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with
the private sector
·
Integrate environmental management and
tourism development plans to ensure that
development of tourism and protection of
the environment are mutually
supportive
·
Pull together a concerted campaign
involving government ministries, the
private sector and training institutions
to promote the benefits of working in
Travel & Tourism
·
Increase communication between the private
sector employers and Travel & Tourism
training institutions to ensure that the
supply of qualified tourism employees
meets the varying demands of the industry,
and vice versa
·
Improve air access to Trinidad and Tobago
by consolidating the position of BWIA and
upgrading existing airport
facilities
·
Identify a body with clear responsibility
for tourism product development and invest
in diversifying the tourism opportunities
within Trinidad and Tobago to ensure
sustainability of the tourism
product
·
Develop a clearly identifiable 'brand'
Trinidad and Tobago to raise awareness of
the country as a destination throughout
the world
·
Ensure that strategic plans reflect issues
specific to Tobago
At the launch in Port
of Spain, Trinidad, Jean-Claude
Baumgarten, WTTC President said, "Trinidad
and Tobago is in prime position to develop
a diverse, high quality and sustainable
tourism industry. Bolstered by
successful and growing energy and
financial sectors, Trinidad is seeing a
rising demand in business tourism.
Tobago, on the other hand, is already one
of the most tourism intense places in the
world. The demand is there, now is the
time to build new products. We applaud the
commitment of TIDCO and now TDC to
development of the country's tourism and
we urge the government to take on board
the findings of this report. Travel
& Tourism will clearly have a very
important role to play in the future of
Trinidad and Tobago and the opportunities
offered by this industry &endash; to the
economy, to employment and to social
development &endash; will be
enormous."
Senator Howard Chin
Lee, Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and
Tobago commented, "We welcome this study
from WTTC and its findings. It comes at
time of new energy in our country's Travel
& Tourism, with the newly formed
Tourism Development Company all set to
drive the industry forward. We
recognize the important contribution made
by Travel & Tourism to our economy and
are committed to ensuring that its
considerable potential is
realized."
About The World
Travel & Tourism
Council
The World Travel &
Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for
global business leaders comprising the
presidents, chairs and CEOs of 100 of the
world's foremost companies. It is
the only body representing the private
sector in all parts of the Travel &
Tourism industry worldwide. Its
members are leaders in all sectors of the
industry, including accommodation,
catering, entertainment, recreation,
transportation and other travel-related
services. WTTC's mission is to raise
awareness of the full economic impact of
the world's largest generator of wealth
and jobs - Travel & Tourism.
Governments are encouraged to unlock the
industry's potential by adopting the
Council's policy framework for sustainable
tourism development. Travel and
Tourism is one of the world's largest
industries, employing some 200 million
people and generating over 10% of the
world's GDP. For more information on
WTTC, please visit
www.wttc.org.
About the Trinidad
and Tobago Research
The WTTC Research for
Trinidad and Tobago is the latest in a
series of research produced by the World
Travel & Tourism Council using
standard's developed by the United Nations
Statistics Commission (called "Tourism
Satellite Accounting") and a detailed
independent policy assessment by leading
Travel & Tourism analysts.
Research on the Report for Trinidad and
Tobago began at the end of
2004.
In England
Olivia
Ruggles-Brise
+ 44 (0) 20 7481
8007
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