Highest inflow of domestic tourists for Tobago in 2013

 Families enjoy a sea bath at Mt Irvine Bay in Tobago.
Photo courtesy Oswin Browne.

More Trinidadians are choosing Tobago as their holiday destination, with more than half a million Trinidadians spending over $117 million on a record number of visits to Tobago in 2013.

Data from tourism associations, flights and ferries in and out of the island indicate that more Trinidadians are travelling to Tobago for quick breaks and one to three-day retreats.

One such traveller, Andrew Seepersad from San Fernando, picks Tobago every time he needs a break. "It's quick, easy, and a great place to breathe some fresh air and chill out," he says. "I'm here for three days to just relax after a hectic few weeks, and Tobago is near enough and easy enough to make these mini-holidays practical, even at the last minute, so I come here a few times every year."

Some repeat visitors stay for longer; the George family of Palo Seco has been travelling to Tobago at least twice a year since 2005, and all eight of them love it. "Tobago is our second home. The first time we came we fell in love with the island, and since then we've been back twice a year and each time with friends," they said.

Assemblyman Tracy Davidson-Celestine, the Secretary of Tourism and Transportation, said "Even as we dedicate time and resources to promoting Tobago internationally, we always keep an eye on our domestic market, as we know how valuable domestic tourism is for the economy. Domestic tourism helps non-traditional accommodation particularly and, with the new ferry 'Galicia', we are expecting reduced costs for goods and services which will help make Tobago an even more attractive option for domestic tourists."

Holidaying in Tobago by Trinidadians has become a favourite pastime thanks in part to the increased airlift and ferry travel during peak seasons in April, July and December, and during popular festivals such as the Tobago Jazz Experience, Tobago Heritage Festival and the Blue Food Festival. The Division also ran a marketing campaign in Trinidad to promote events such as "Tobago Day at the Races," a preview of the annual goat races at Buccoo and Mount Pleasant; and the "Got To Go Tobago Roadshow," giving Trinidadians a snippet of Tobagonian music, culture and food.

Domestic travellers to Tobago increased by 3 per cent in 2013, with 50,000 more arrivals than 2012, making it the highest number for the past six years. In 2012, 57 per cent of Trinidadians came to the island on the ferry and 43 per cent travelled by air, whereas in 2013, 53 per cent flew and 47 per cent came by ferry.

Source:THA

Tourist Attacked, Robbed at Gunpoint In Tobago

Three South African visitors to Tobago—a 70-year-old woman, her son and his wife—are recovering from their injuries after being attacked by four masked men, armed with guns, aboard the yacht Dino off Bloody Bay around 1 a.m. last Thursday.

The trio were aboard the catamaran when the four men, in a fishing boat with bamboo poles and guns, boarded their craft and announced a hold-up.  A pistol was pointed to the head of the 70-year-old woman while her son attempted to repel the attackers using his machete. He was hit in the head with the machete and suffered injuries to his face.

During the melee, a French woman on another yacht in the area attempted to assist the traumatised visitors, but  two shots were fired at her. She escaped without injury. The men then escaped in the fishing boat, leaving behind a mask and cap.

Tobago hotels get big Carnival boost

Hotels and guest houses did well during the Carnival 2013 season and will continue that trend during the post-Carnival cooldown period. This is from president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association Nicholas Hardwicke in an e-mail response to the T&T Guardian. Hardwicke said that during the Carnival season, occupancy levels for mainstream hotels and guest houses were in excess of 70 per cent with some hotels even being filled to capacity. 

“But this will decrease significantly in a week to ten days’ time once the Carnival cooldown subsides,” he added. Hardwicke said Tobago hotels generally fill up four to five days before Carnival Monday and Tuesday with visitors from Trinidad who do not wish to participate in the festivities. He said immediately after Carnival there is an even bigger influx of visitors that comes for the post-Carnival cooldown.

He said there was a good mix or foreigners and Trinidadian visitors in hotels. He said foreigners tend to favour the larger hotels and villas whereas visitors from Trinidad generally stay at guest houses, self-catered apartments and smaller hotels. He also said hotels also saw greater number of families visiting from the UK since this Carnival coincided with school half-term holidays in the UK. 

Hardwicke said Tobago should see another sizeable influx of visitors during the Easter period and again in late April for the Tobago Jazz Experience. In a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian, general manager of the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort Vince Angelo said the hotel experienced the expected number of visitors during and after the Carnival 2013 season. He said the biggest visitor arrival days were between February 9 and February 11 and it has been very busy since. 

He said the weekend before Carnival Monday and Tuesday, many families came to the hotel to get away from the hectic atmosphere in Trinidad. Now, in the post-Carnival period, Angelo said visitors include Trinidadians as well as tourists from the UK and Europe. He said Trinidadians at the hotel are using this time to kick back and take it easy after the days of partying and revelry. Rooms in the hotel were also booked for weddings over the weekend.

General manager of Kariwak Village Allan Clovis told the T&T Guardian that the number of visitors to the hotel was no different from any other year. He said rooms as the hotel were full prior to and during the Carnival season. Clovis said during this the post-Carnival cooldown period, there is a mixture of visitors to the hotel from Trinidad as well as tourists from other countries.

Leslie Amedee, general manger of Turtle Beach Tobago, said in a telephone interview that during the Carnival season the hotel did very well in terms of occupancy. He said occupancy levels were around 90 per cent during Carnival and he expected them to drop to around 45 per cent by the end of February. Amedee said the hotel is now preparing to accommodate Easter visitors. At present there are not many Trinidadians staying at the hotel.

He said around this time, the hotel houses many conference and business groups, retreat groups and couples.

Source:Guardian

German couple still traumatised after Pigeon Point accident

A German couple who suffered an attack at the hands of a cutlass wielding bandit is still traumatised months after the dreaded event at Pigeon Point Resort. The incident occurred on November 22 last year and the couple was visiting Tobago for the first time.

According to a police report obtained by this newspaper, the two foreigners, Bernd Haaf and his wife Ilona Fischer, had just left the jetty at the popular resort and were on bicycles when they were attacked by a man with a 'Rasta hairstyle' who alighted from bushes and accosted them. "The man then took the cutlass and cut the victim's blue and grey knapsack which he was wearing at the time and which contained one cannon digital camera valued 200 Euros, a pair of binoculars, two pairs of sunglasses, a USB stick and a red jersey," the report stated.

The man swung the cutlass and dealt seventy-one year-old Haaf a blow to his left hand before escaping through nearby bushes. Haaf sustained injury to his left thumb finger which was completely severed in the process. He was subsequently treated at the Scarborough Hospital and discharged.

Speaking with Tobago News from their home in Germany, his wife explained that because the thumb could not be rescued, her husband will be disabled in all his activities in future. "He still suffers pain and can hardly use his left hand. This was our first trip to Tobago – it should be a paradise - but our holidays ended after only three days with a nightmare and we are still traumatised by this terrible incident changing our life in a negative way," she lamented.

She said, since the attack, the have been suffering from depressions, panic attacks and disordered sleep.

The couple was however, grateful for assistance received from Brett Kenny of Radical Sports as well as Nicolas Hardwicke of the Tobago Hotel Association and Sandra Hendrickson of the Division of Tourism in securing the next possible return flight to Germany.

"In this connection, we would like to point out that we paid an entrance fee for entering the park and thought that we are safe in this area, the more so as there was a barrier at the entrance and security staff. But it was not safe enough," the victim noted.

Tobago News tried to could not ascertain if any arrests has been made in relation to the case but was unsuccessful.

Source:thetobagonews