As T&T's non-renewable resources continue to be consumed, the need for diversification becomes more significant, especially in these challenging economic times. Given that scenario, the T&T Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI) is urging all stakeholders within the tourism industry to utilise and promote cultural tourism as a viable means to boost the economy. Pat Butcher, chief executive officer of the TTHTI, said within the last four years, T&T, especially the sister isle, had been experiencing a decline in tourist arrivals due to a number of factors, crime being a major one.
Butcher feels that cultural tourism is an untapped area which can be used to increase visitor arrivals with a special focus on the international market. In an interview with the Business Guardian recently, Butcher said, "We have not done enough in this area in terms of marketing ourselves to the rest of the world.
"Everyone knows that Tobago has sun, sea and sand and the leisure aspect of tourism." In the case of Trinidad, she noted that business tourism is promoted because of the business opportunities available. "But due to our cultural diversity, there is so much more we can offer." Butcher said T&T has a unique selling proposition and T&T's cultural diversity could be promoted to boost tourism.
She stressed, though, that cultural tourism must be promoted more effectively in order to attain the desired returns. To achieve this goal, Butcher said the TTHTI had invited Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, to be facilitators at the TTHTI's two-day cultural tourism master class. The event, to be held on February 8-9 at the Queen's Park Oval, will include all tourism stakeholders within the industry, who will be guided on how to promote cultural tourism with an international perspective. Butcher said the facilitators will bring their expertise in this area to assist stakeholders in how to compete in the global marketplace.
The business of culture
Butcher said T&T's festivals such as Carnival attract a significant number of returning residents and can be marketed to attract more international visitors. She said both local and international markets must be targeted in order to maximise T&T's potential to earn more tourism revenue. Referring to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) January 2009 report, Impact on Culture and Tourism, Butcher said cultural tourists spend more money than leisure tourists as they stay longer. "They want to get immersed in the culture...they want to understand how you live and what you do. Thus, when they enjoy that experience, they would sell us, tell other people and that is what we want," Butcher said.
Different sectors within the tourism industry have been complaining about the insufficient funding to promote tourism and the drastic drop in tourism, among other issues. Asked how does the TTHTI plan on pushing tourism forward in light of these challenges, Butcher replied in her capacity as a standing committee member: "I am heading the tourism education and awareness sub –committee, so what we are doing is reviewing the tourism product that we are offering." "We are also looking at our competitiveness and comparing ourselves to our competitors and observing what they are doing, what we are not doing, and what we need to do to promote and maximise the potential of our tourism product," she said.
Establishing high standards
With its diversity, T&T can be packaged into one, Butcher said. She explained that each community can maximise the potential of the tourism product from a cultural perspective. Making reference to the different religious festivals, such as Divali, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hosay in St James and the popular Point Fortin Borough Festival, Butcher said these festivals could be replicated in other communities. "This, in essence, would bring more value offering to tourism." Toni Blackman, TTHTI's marketing and customer service manager, said the tourism industry needs to raise its standards in terms of infrastructure and service delivery.
"We must develop world-class standards as people are willing to pay for service," she said. "Once this is established, we need to market and promote our product professionally," Blackman said. Butcher said T&T Carnival is not properly marketed. "We need to make greater use of technology: the social network, have information out as early as possible. The international market needs to access tickets for events online and, most importantly, plan ahead," Butcher said.
In addition, she advised that business tourism can be used to leverage cultural tourism. "Once the business market enjoys a good experience, they would inform others and return," Butcher said. The Government, Butcher said, has a major role to play in promoting business tourism by engaging in trade expositions and conferences. "Trade shows are a powerful forum for advertising your country."
TTHTI initiatives
Meanwhile, Butcher said the TTHTI would continue to embark on a number of education and awareness programmes targeting those at the top, for instance, the decision-makers. "We need to make them aware of our tourism product and what we have to offer. "Hence, our cultural tourism class is very timely as they can understand and appreciate the value of this product." TTHI is also working on becoming ISO certified and will be offering a bachelor of business administration in hospitality management and a bachelor of arts in events management by partnering with the Tourism Institute of Australia. For further information on the master class: www.tthi.edu.tt