Staying true to my word limit in my last column, I was forced to omit many subject areas which would seem obvious to most in any discussion about tourism in the region. I was adequately reminded of this in the flurry of comments elicited by the column. During his recent visit to Trinidad, the British Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Jeremy Browne, dispensed with the typical British reserve to address a fundamental issue.
You may recall that the Prime Minister quite recently made entreaties to the British Government to tackle the punitive air passenger duty tax which I understand has resulted in a dramatic increase in the airfare from the UK to Trinidad. Trinis who suffered through the bitter Christmas cold in England had to pretend that Kool-Aid was sorrel. Minister Browne basically told the people of T&T that we have bigger things to worry about... things like killing tourists or pulverising them within an inch of their lives.
The Greenes escaped with their lives and have as a legacy of their time in Tobago, a lifetime of significant medical problems. Muri-um Greene suffered a beating so severe that she sustained a significant skull fracture which could have killed her. Her husband was not spared the onslaught of these monsters who invaded their home, having sustained horrific injuries himself. After the egregious diplomatic bungling which played out, the Greens took their show on the road, letting all and sundry know that Tobago is the place to go if you want to get your teeth kicked in.
Without going into too much detail about the Greenes' ongoing tragedy, the UK minister, who also happens to be the Member of Parliament for the battered couple, was unequivocal in pointing out that we need to handle our crime problem. Apart from all of the issues which I outlined in my last column, crime continues to be a serious impediment to tourism in this country. There are many who argue that the extent to which crime is a factor in a traveller's destination decision is limited. Well, let me tell you, when I was in New York, I was standing outside of a bar taking a smoke. I was joined by a young Scotsman who was travelling the world.
When I told him I am from the Caribbean, he immediately stated that under no circumstances would he go to Jamaica because he had been regaled with so many horror stories from his countrymen who had been there and suffered at the hands of marauding bandits. Now this is just one random person on a street in New York City. The world is so connected by the Internet now that stories about violent crimes perpetrated against tourists in the Caribbean find new life every day in chat rooms, on blogs, Facebook and endlessly recycled You Tube video clips. Therefore, I am suggesting that a low crime rate must form part of the overall tourism package that we are offering to the outside world with our "take it or leave it" arrogance. Customer service is next on the list if we really want to boost our tourist figures.
I want to take you back to my experience at the Radisson Lexington during my trip to New York. This was my first time there on my own so I really did not know my way around. I had images in my mind of being mugged in the subway and being thrown on the tracks to sizzle and fry to a Cajun crisp with the surge of electricity, so I was not sufficiently adventurous to cross the street to even get a sandwich.
Acknowledging this, the Radisson provided a concierge service from 7.30 am to 8 pm. They would book restaurants, Broadway tickets, museum exhibitions, sightseeing tours and even transpor- tation to the airport for hotel guests right there at the concierge desk. They gave you coupons for shopping at nearby stores and, more importantly, they would not just give you maps but point out areas of interest and offer suggestions as to the best routes to your destination.
What also impressed me were their powers of perception. They could look at me and see by the cut of my jib that I am a man of modest means. In light of this, they offered numerous suggestions as to how I could travel throughout the city using the subway and the bus and avoid haemorrhaging money with the city cabs. They even gave recommendations on where to find great food at affordable prices. Now my point is, after that experience I am far more likely to return to that hotel because the experience was quite agreeable. Again, all part of the packaging.
The last time I went to Tobago, the bartender at the hotel where I stayed had the flexible schedule of a public servant and, at a certain time, a bouncer would emerge out of nowhere and shout swimmers out of the pool for no apparent reason. Additionally, the front desk staff would not help you find a hanger for your shirt, much less direct you to ideal spots on the island: "What you see is what it have!" It is my understanding that Tobago hotels surprisingly continue to receive terrible reviews for their customer service. Most people who responded to my column complained about unpleasant and unhelpful staff. One person even made the provocative suggestion that Tobago is not as dependent on the tourism industry as you might think because the island life is substantially subsidised by the Tobago House of Assembly.
Now this is unfortunate because Tobago is a very special place with vast potential. We have to, however, get real and recognise that in this global market we have to compete aggressively to get that tourist dollar. So Tobago has beautiful white sand beaches and turquoise waters. There is a beach in Cuba in a tourist district called Varadero that is 14 miles of pearl white sand, azure skies and five-dollar mojitos.
Aggressive pricing is one way to go. Stay for five nights, get another two for free. Have two-dollar cocktails at the bar every evening with the dipping of the sunset and you can rest assured that visitors will lose their better judgment for just long enough to sign up for that deal. The stay in the rooms might be free but they will have to eat and drink right?
Organise regular historical and eco-tours for hotel guests. Why not offer courses in Carnival costume making (although there are many Trinis who could benefit from such courses). That way they get something tangible from the Caribbean other than a couple melanomas and a proper cuta-- from bandit. We have to be creative. I'm just spitballin' here but it seems to me that if the sector were to have seminars to brainstorm novel ways to lure tourists to the island as opposed to bellyaching about needing government support to survive the occupancy drough you might see a shift in your fortunes.