The COVID-19 pandemic may have stalled Tobago’s tourism sector for over two years, but in its wake, much-needed innovations for the sector are coming forward.
One such is the new digital platform All Things Tobago, which was created by Alphalya Telesford and Cheyonne-Rose Dailey last year.
Telesford told the Business Guardian that the platform was created when she realised the approach to selling some of Tobago’s most well-known attractions had not changed for decades.
“One of the major sources of income in Tobago tourism sector is the Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool. So you have those boats that take you to the Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool and then to No Man’s Land,” said Telesford.
“In Tobago how the reef boats get their clients they would send some guys on the beach and they would sell tickets to the boat. So the boat owner would give them a ticket book and they will sell those tickets. So the people who visited, only when you reach for your vacation then you’ll be able to book your ticket. So they would be on the beach hustling ‘eh Nylon Pool today?’ And they get families to go on the Nylon Pool glass bottom boats.”
Telesford said she noticed the shortcoming in this approach after several monthly trips to the islands after the COVID restrictions were lifted.
“I started this business through coming to Tobago after the pandemic once every month. I am a problem solver. With my problem-solving skills I started to realise Tobago has a hustle culture, and it is poorly marketed to the world. So I decided to create All Things Tobago which is a digital marketing platform to show people what Tobago has to offer, everything in Tobago. So I did that I modernised the way Tobago would market itself. They are very much traditional they didn’t have much digital marketing,” said Telesford, who along with Dailey started work on the platform to fill some of those gaps in Tobago’s tourism marketing.
“We live in a world where technology is continuously advancing. I decided to use it. Use these platforms to show people what Tobago has to offer,” she said.
Telesford also was thinking of what could be added to the tourism landscape on the island as she sought a means to establish herself in the industry. Her solution was the introduction of a bamboo raft experience, not dissimilar to that offered in Jamaica, which she admitted inspired her.
“I also realised that there are multiple glass bottom boats, multiple jet skis, and multiple kayaks. So I was thinking what can be done differently? I found a lagoon where the water would be appropriate for bamboo rafts because it’s not safe for me to put the rafts in the sea. The sea is so unpredictable with its current, the tide. Whenever the sea bed is swelling, it may be difficult to put rafts on the sea.
“After doing some research, I learnt the lagoon is one of the largest nurseries in the Caribbean, and it’s protected so it always stays calm regardless of the condition of the sea. So I decided to launch the bamboo rafts there,” said Telesford.
The raft service was launched on October 28 during the inaugural Tobago Carnival celebrations and the All Things Tobago team has seen a positive response so far.
“The feedback right now is incredible to be very honest. A lot of people are asking about it because it is something different being offered in Tobago,” said Telesford who explained the Tobago Tourism Agency even reached out to audit her product to assess its potential.
Telesford said that there are plans to expand the service, including the introduction of a deluxe raft which would include massage services as well as a raft that can leave the lagoon and nestle in the Nylon Pool.
“We would be able to take it out of the lagoon into the Nylon Pool, so people could have floating lunch when we anchor that raft. we’re currently designing a catamaran raft,” said Telesford.
The service runs daily Telesford added, with a maximum of three trips per day.
The product also helped reinforce her stance that digital marketing was necessary on the island, as she initially used the traditional approach to market the raft service early on.
Telesford told the Business Guardian that she similarly handed out ticket books to beach workers to sell her service, yet the vast majority of her clients have booked her service online.
She explained that the All Things Tobago platform was also being used to showcase parts of the island that are lesser known to the international world. Telesford said she is heartened that the platform has so far garnered a lot of international clients
“Generally with All Things Tobago so far we were able to meet international clients and not just people from Tobago and not only take them on the bamboo raft but show them the countryside of the island.
“As mentioned earlier, the majority of the profits in tourism come from the western side of the island. That’s where we have the Nylon Pool and where the glass bottom boats go to. But with my digital presence, I was able to get international clients and show them the countryside of the island which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful parts of the island.
“Speyside, Charlotteville, Pink Sand beach, showing them places that people don’t think exist in Tobago because at All Things Tobago we show people what there is besides (the West). Which is not to talk down the glass bottom boat or anything like that because I do recommend that people do that when they are visiting for the first time,” she said.
The recent handover of the Manta Lodge Hotel and Dive Centre in Speyside was touted as an attempt to push new niche markets in Tobago’s tourism. But Telesford felt the new hotel would only do well if Tobago stepped up its marketing in that regard.
“I think what would be a help to tourism is not necessarily the construction of a hotel or a villa. What would be of assistance to Tobago’s tourism is if it is marketed properly. That’s really it,” said Telesford.
