Government's $320 million plan to upgrade T&T's two airports, develop a business park and a world-class 251-room Radisson Hotel north of the Piarco terminal is long overdue, said Tobago hotelier Allan Clovis. Clovis, co-owner of Kariwak Village Holistic Haven and Hotel in Tobago, said more hotel rooms were needed in Trinidad in particular. In welcoming the initiative to upgrade the airports and Trinidad's accommodation facilities, Clovis said the plan will be premature unless Government placed more value on the tourism sector assets and allocate more resources to protect visitors, citizens and T&T's reputation abroad.
Works Minister Colm Imbert yesterday announced plans to construct a new Radisson hotel and upgrade Piarco and Crown Point airports at a post-Cabinet press conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's.
Commenting on the plans, Clovis said they could be easily derailed if crime is not urgently addressed. "We are quickly losing market share in an already depressed tourism sector–particularly in Tobago, and criminals are using the opportunity being offered by Government to target visitors and our tourism resources. "Everyone is aware that the entire police service in Tobago is understaffed. The officers may be willing to do the job, but there just isn't enough of them to deal with the rising tide of crime occurring in Tobago.
"We only get attention when high profile crimes occur in Tobago, but for the year so far, there have been at least three other incidences where visitors and citizens have been attacked, and the authorities are unable to provide the surveillance to prevent situations as well as provide the follow-up needed to detect the perpetrators after a crime has been committed. "I believe the real issue is that we have not placed enough value on our tourism sector to warrant allocating more resources to protect it. The Tobago House of Assembly has to plead a stronger case to the central government for Tobago to receive the personnel needed to detect and prevent crimes on the island. "Tourism is Tobago's strongest natural resource asset, and despite the insistence by the authorities that tourism development is a major priority, the reluctance to provide the necessary support on the ground shows it is only a low priority concern for government," Clovis said.