Outside the Pigeon Point Heritage Park yesterday, the mood was sombre as tour operators huddled together talking quietly about the incident that left Angelica Jogie dead, their boats sitting empty anchored nearby on the water.
Many of them said they were disappointed that Chief Secretary Farley Augustine had announced a 24-hour ban on all operations. They said reef boats should not pay the price for jet ski operators flouting the rules.
Veteran tour operator Melville David said he believes a secluded spot needs to be designated for jet ski activities.
“They should have some bay for them, an area that is not popular,” he said.
“That may be the best bet. Anyone who wants to ride on a jet ski should go on that bay, not Pigeon Point, where it has a lot of families.”
David disagreed with the decision to implement a blanket ban on the marine park. He said the industry is so unpredictable that a one-day ban is detrimental to tour operators.
“The season is very short. It is not much business. In a few days’ time you would not have anyone here,” he said.
Michael Frank, owner of Frankie Tours, expressed his condolences to the family but echoed David’s sentiments. He said the industry employs hundreds of people, including caterers, vendors and other stakeholders.
“I know of a big group who here for a wedding. They have a BBQ today and you talking about 130 people from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, who only here for one day to do this. They fly in specifically to do this. Who is footing that bill? They have to be refunded.”
He believes the incident will leave a bad memory in the minds of some visitors who will be forced to leave without fulfilling their bucket list of activities.
He said one operator called him crying, as she had a big tour scheduled yesterday and would be losing thousands of dollars.
Frank, who has been conducting tours in Tobago for decades, said the authorities need to get stricter in the enforcement of regulations.
“Enforcement only comes when something happens. Until we take it seriously all across the board it would constantly happen,” he said.
He said jet ski operators need better training before they can go on the water.
“If you train people in the correct way, there would be no issue of where to go. The second thing is enforcement,” he said.
“Jet ski is a high-risk machine. I actually sold all of mines seven years ago. It is an important part of the tourism but it could have lethal effect.”
Asked why he got out of the business, he said there was too much negligence taking place. He recalled multiple incidents in which his jet ski riders crashed into other drivers, boats and people. He said he paid the medical bills for the injured parties and did not get the THA involved.
“I used to have 17 jet skis at one point in time. You tell them come in for 4 pm, nine o’clock in the night you can’t find them. They gone somewhere with some girl. These are the kinds of things that create problems.”
Meanwhile, former minority leader Kelvon Morris said enforcement of the regulations is crucial “to ensure there is order in our tourism sector.”
“There should be some uniformity. We have to see tourism as our business, so there is a level of order and safety,” he said.
Former Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe said the death had left her with a heavy heart and said it was a sobering reminder about the importance of safety and vigilance in shared spaces.
The Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association also said the incident would be devastating to the tourism industry and the island.
