Research and Statistics - National Tourism Policy (DRAFT)


MINISTRY OF TOURISM

SUMMARY

DRAFT NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY

OF

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

July 24, 2008

INTRODUCTION

The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago wants to propel Trinidad and Tobago into developed country status by 2020. The key drivers of such a transformation are the desires to attain adequate levels of economic growth, diversification and competitiveness, while balancing the need for quality social and human development.

With the proper strategic approach, the tourism sector will be key in achieving those objectives.

The Need for a National Tourism Policy

Tourism is a US$8 trillion industry, representing significant opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago along the lines of revenue, employment, entrepreneurship, investment, foreign exchange earnings, linkages with other sectors, developing new export markets and regional integration, to name a few. Therefore, tourism, more than any other industry, has the potential to provide the basis for and sustain the Vision 2020

Programme of the Government through economic growth and development, creating employment and alleviating poverty.

Another Tourism is Possible

Tourism must be responsible, sustainable and kind to the environment and cultures that it impacts on. Travellers are more mature, experienced, demanding and environmentally conscious. Local communities want more inclusion and want to benefit more from tourism. They are becoming increasingly demanding for more sustainable, environmental and economic best practices in tourism. It is this more responsible and sustainable form of tourism that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago wishes to promote in the National Tourism Policy.

Tourism Vision Statement

By the year 2020, the Trinidad and Tobago tourism product will be a significant economic sector contributing significantly to the nation’s GDP, through job creation and

increased revenues, driven by a uniquely differentiated, internationally competitive tourism product, complemented by comprehensive, fully functional physical infrastructure, modern, competitive  institutions and supported by the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

Tourism Mission Statement

To fully develop Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism industry by the sustainable development and aggressive promotion of an innovative, differentiated, high value, internationally competitive visitor experience, supported by strong brand recognition, public and private sector partnership and a positive cultural transformation.

TOURISM POLICY CONTEXT

The Global Tourism Scenario

Between 1950 and 2007 the number of international arrivals has shown an evolution from 25 million in 1950 to its current 898 million. This corresponds to an average annual growth rate of 6.5 percent. International tourist arrivals are estimated to increase to 1 billion by 2010 and 1.6 billion by 2020, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The international tourism industry has been undergoing rapid and radical transformation since the late 1980s – a transformation driven largely by the more experienced and demanding consumers, on the one hand, and by information technologies (IT), and other external factors on the other.

The main drivers of change have been the changing needs and tastes of consumers (more mature, more educated, more environmentally conscious, more demanding) and rapid changes in technology (the Internet, rise of low cost carriers, etc.) In addition to consumer and technological impacts on the tourism industry, there are a number of new competitors emerging in the industry – China, Eastern Europe, Space travel, Virtual Reality and many others.

There are also a number of other factors influencing the tourism industry. These are as follows:

1. Climate change and natural disasters;

2. Increased industry polarization;

3. Emergence of low-cost carriers;

4. Escalating operating costs, including energy and capital costs;

5. Terrorism and global uncertainty on safety and security;

6. Increased customer expectations;

7. Changing investment trends.

These challenges and developments at the global level suggest that the Caribbean cannot continue to compete on Sun, Sand and Sea alone.

Key Regional Issues

The Caribbean is one of the most tourism-dependent regions in the world. There were 22.7 million tourist (stay-over) arrivals to the Caribbean region in 2007. During the same period, cruise passenger visits to the Caribbean region grew by an estimated 1.6% to 19.2 million, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

At present, the Caribbean region’s travel and tourism industry is estimated to contribute US$40 billion in direct and indirect economic activity, compared with around US$4 billion in 1980. Travel and tourism also generates an estimated 683,000 direct tourism industry jobs or 2.15 million direct and indirect jobs in the region, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The extent of the Caribbean's dependence on tourism is also illustrated by the fact that tourism earnings are equivalent to over 18% of all export earnings.

Role of Tourism in the Local Economy

Tourism’s role in the Trinidad ad Tobago economy is over-shadowed by the energy

sector. Nevertheless, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that, in Trinidad and Tobago, travel and tourism will contribute 18% to GDP, 20.9% of employment and 17.3% of exports in 2008. Consider that in 2007 travel and tourism accounted for over 30% of GDP in Jamaica and 43% for Barbados, and created more than 2 million jobs in the UK and 15 million in the USA, also according to the WTTC. The potential for the Trinidad and Tobago economy is considerable.

Tourism arrivals to Trinidad and Tobago grew from 355,220 visitors in 1999 to 457,387 in 2006. This contrasts with 22.7 million visitor arrivals to the region as a whole and nearly 20 million cruise passenger visits in 2006.

Opportunities and Constraints

Strengths Weaknesses

  • The country’s natural beauty and resources
  • (mountains, forests, beaches, sun, rivers, etc.)
  • An intelligent, innovative, creative andinternationally exposed population base
  • The warmth, friendliness and hospitality of its people
  • The complementarities between the dynamiccity-state of Trinidad and the peaceful and idyllic Tobago
  • A vibrant, diverse and unique cultural heritage
  • Political and economic stability
  • Location below the hurricane belt
  • English is the official language  Limited focus on tourism compared to the energy sector
  • Little integration of tourism with local and rural communities
  • Limited tourism education and awareness
  • Need for more standards and ‘best practices’
  • Need for improved infrastructure, especially in rural areas
  •   Insufficient capacity, especially in Tobago
  •   Insufficient marketing and promotion to existing and new markets
  • A poor reputation for customer service
  • Restrictions on foreign investors and workers
  • Lack of up-to-date data on the sector
  • The geographical separation of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Limited collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders
  • Opportunities Threats
  • The potential for meaningful linkages between tourism and other sectors of the economy
  •   Increased awareness of Trinidad and Tobago on the world stage
  • The potential to increase national income and alleviate poverty through increased investment,employment, foreign exchange earnings, exports, increased tax revenues, etc.
  • International demand for eco- and cultural tourism is on the rise
  • The potential to create niche products in the areas of culture and heritage and ecotourism
  • Increased international competition
  • Climate change
  • The current level of crime
  • Outbreak of disease, such as dengue and yellow fever
  • Difficulty in retaining and attracting skilled labor

TOURISM POLICY OBJECTIVE S

Overall Aim

Development of the tourism industry shall be based on the rich talent of its people and the unique environment and culture of Trinidad and Tobago. It will be sustainability-based, people-centred and private sector-driven.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to the following overall aims:

1. Establishing an appropriate institutional framework for the sector;

2. High quality planning and development of products and services in the tourism sector

in keeping with evolving international standards;

3. Harmonization of the capital investment regime, industry linkages, human resource

development and public awareness and participation.

Guiding Principles

Nine key principles will guide the development of tourism in Trinidad and Tobago:

1. Tourism development will be private sector driven;

2. Government will provide the enabling framework for development;

3. Effective local community involvement will form the basis of tourism growth.

4. The environment is a primary resource base for tourism and sustainable usage must

be practised;

5. A cultural conservation and enhancement approach focused on encouraging the

revitalization of indigenous expressions of culture and heritage and the maintenance

of the country’s unique cultural identity, needs to be developed;

6. The talent base of the nation will be developed and nurtured to provide creativity and

competitiveness to the sector;

7. Close partnerships among all stakeholders will make the tourism industry in Trinidad

and Tobago flourish;

8. Tourism will be used as a tool for the social development and transformation of the

country; and

9. Tourism development will take place in the context of strong regional co-operation.

Key Success Factors

For Trinidad and Tobago to achieve its vision for tourism, a number of key success

factors must be met. These are as follows:

1. The tourism industry must be sustainable.

2. Tourism must involve local communities and wide cross-sections of the Trinidad and

Tobago population.

3. The environment for tourism development must be both safe and stable;

4. The industry must be competitive and offer quality services and value for money;

5. The industry must be customer-driven - innovative and responsive to changing needs;

6. There must be focus on product development, with emphasis on diversity;

7. There must be training and education for tourism;

8. Creative and aggressive marketing and promotion are needed;

9. Economic linkages must be developed and growth fostered, with strategic integration

into the general economic policy so that the sector’s potential can be fully exploited;

and

10. Appropriate institutional structures must be put in place.

Beneficiaries

It is envisaged that the development of a sustainable and responsible tourism industry in

Trinidad and Tobago will benefit all stakeholders. Beneficiaries in this regard are as

follows:

1. Tourists will have increased access to the destination and greater reliability on quality

tourism services while sharing enhanced tourism experiences

2. Citizens, particularly local communities, will become more involved in the planning

and development of local tourism, resulting in access to enhanced infrastructure and

enjoyment of quality tourism recreation and services. Increased opportunities for

entrepreneurship, employment and income-generation for local communities will

result.

3. Employees in the Tourism Sector will have increased access to training and

development

4. Public Agencies will be better able to coordinate policy and planning activities, by

enhancing monitoring capacity that will drive policy intervention and aid in the

provision of quality products.

5. The Private Sector will have access to an increased number of visitors that would

stimulate increased opportunities for successful entrepreneurship, employment and

income generation.

Specific Objectives

Social Objectives

1. To use the tourism industry as a vehicle for nation building and an improved quality

of life for citizens through development of infrastructure, services, amenities, job

creation, increased competitiveness and economic diversification.

2. To promote a domestic tourism programme that will have the social development of

citizens as its primary objective.

3. To address issues of drug trafficking, crime and harassment of individuals and the

incidence of HIV/AIDS.

4. To encourage mutual respect for all cultures and eliminate all forms of

discrimination.

5. To provide appropriate tourism education, training, awareness and capacity-building

programmes for local community groups.

6. To encourage participation by all citizens at both strategic and tactical levels of

planning and policy-making for the tourism sector.

7. To promote pride in the country and all of its cultural forms.

8. To promote human development, focusing on gender equality and career

development and implementation of national labour standards.

9. To promote peace and greater respect for human life on a national, regional and

international scale.

Economic Objectives

1. To generate 200,000 direct and indirect travel and tourism jobs by 2020.

2. To increase the number of visitor arrivals to 635,000 by 2020.

3. To increase average daily visitor spend by at least 10% every year to 2020 and develop mechanisms to encourage higher visitor expenditure and higher-end visitors.

4. To develop linkages between tourism (including cruise tourism) and other sectors of the economy.

5. To encourage and support domestic participation in the tourism industry

6. To strengthen the regional linkages for the Trinidad and Tobago economy.

7. To aggressively promote the tourism industry as a generator of economic growth and foreign exchange.

8. To make tourism a national priority - the economic base that will sustain the social and economic transformation of the Trinidad and Tobago economy.

9. To create employment and incomes and in a sustainable manner.

10. To create opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.

11. To use tourism to aid the development of rural communities.

12. To promote domestic tourism amongst all citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

13. To encourage the further growth of the regional (Caribbean) tourism market.

14. To use tourism to foster greater economic integration of the region.

Environment Objectives

1. To develop tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner.

2. To require the conduct of environmental impact assessments for all tourism projects

and all major economic development projects.

3. To evaluate and consider the tourism impacts of proposed project developments in

other sectors of the economy.

4. To contribute to the development of a coordinated country-wide environmental strategy.

5. To operate with all other land interests leading to optimal land allocation and usage for the tourism sector

6. To ensure that development of the tourism sector will be in accordance with the physical environmental policies of the country.

7. To influence the enactment of legislation for the regulation of motorised water sports and the use of motor vehicles along shore-lines and in sensitive areas.

8. To address the issue of noise pollution and the use of motorised pleasure craft.

Cultural Objectives

i) To encourage spin-off effects from other sectors on the culture of the country (non-traditional manufacturing based on cultural traditions, festivals management, steel pan manufacturing, etc).

ii) To revive dying traditions, art and culture. Critical attention is to be given to building national pride through a more  environmentally-conscious population.

UNLOCKING TOURISM’S GROWTH POTENTIAL

  • Government shall create an environment that will unlock the country’s vast tourism potential, addressing a number of areas such as human resources development, infrastructure development, investment promotion, product development and marketing.
  • Government recognises that the environment is an important resource base for tourism. In this regard, tourism will be developed responsibly and with due care and respect for the natural treasures of the country.
  • Government shall support high quality planning and development of products and services in the tourism sector in keeping with evolving international standards.
  • The Government shall ensure the improvement and development of adequate infrastructure to support tourism (roads, water supply, telecommunications, security, electricity, air and sea access, etc).
  • Government shall support a proactive, aggressive and effective approach to marketing the destination.
  • Government shall facilitate the transformation of Trinidad and Tobago into an attractive location for tourism investment.
  • Government shall be committed to creating an appropriate education and training infrastructure that will support and coordinate the development of the tourism sector in an effective and efficient manner.
  • Government recognises that the travel and tourism industry is fiercely competitive  and ever-changing. Government shall promote, support, conduct, encourage and make timely use of sound information and research for the enhancement and improvement of tourism products, marketing and promotion.
  • It is the objective of Government to appropriately engage and empower local communities in the planning and decision making for the development and management of tourism products and services.
  • The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to working with international and regional organisations to foster cooperation and communication; to share in the development and implementation of strategic industry objectives and to benefit from research, best practices and shared experiences. The Government shall actively encourage a number of areas of cooperation such as, environment, marketing, training, cruise development, visa and travel restriction issues and art and handicraft production.

TOURISM POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

In order to realize the full potential of the country’s tourism industry and the greater vision for tourism in the Caribbean, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago shall seek to establish physical, social, legal and institutional frameworks that will set the stage for the ustainable growth of the tourism industry.

Key Stakeholders and Responsibilities

The Ministry of Tourism

The mission of the Ministry of Tourism is to guide the development of a sustainable tourism sector and to ensure that tourism becomes a significant contributor to GDP and a major generator of well-paid employment. The Ministry is responsible for tourism policy development, awareness, information dissemination, investment facilitation, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of trends in the industry. It also facilitates and monitors destination marketing and public relations activities through the administration of funding to the TDC. The Ministry is also responsible for lifeguard services and the Emperor Valley Zoo.

The Tourism Development Company Limited (TDC)

Having replaced the Tourism Division of the Tourism and Industrial Development Company Limited (TIDCO), the TDC is responsible for tourism policy implementation, destination and tourism investment promotion and product development. The TDC will be enhanced to its full capacity to carry out its functions and to execute the approved tourism policies.

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA)

The Division of Tourism and Transportation of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is responsible for the formulation and implementation of tourism policy for Tobago. Accordingly, it is responsible for its own tourism promotion and development, and overseas marketing of Tobago in collaboration with the TDC. The Ministry of Tourism, the TDC and the THA Division of Tourism and Transportation will continue to collaborate and coordinate efforts with respect to the country’s tourism development and promotion efforts to maximize the impact of resources allocated for same.

Standing Committee on Tourism

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago recognizes that there is an urgent need to improve coordination and collaboration between and among those with strategic interest in the tourism industry, particularly the Ministry of Tourism, the TDC, and the THA. Such coordination is not limited to these agencies but extends to other Government agencies that enable and support the development of the industry.

In this regard, the Government shall establish a Standing Committee on Tourism whose primary role will be to facilitate and coordinate the sustainable development of the tourism industry in Trinidad based on the policy guidelines of the Ministry of Tourism. It will be comprised of appropriate representatives of various key governmental and tourism-related organizations (public/private sector) and will co-opt tourism-related stakeholders as necessary.

 

National Tourism Policy - 2008



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