It could be a game-changer for Tobago’s floundering tourism industry if the island’s first Carnival scheduled for late October is properly planned, marketed and staged.
After years of pondering over the concept of a festival that is completely independent of the pre-Lenten event that is this country’s biggest cultural festivity, the PDP-led Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is making it a reality this year.
The announcement on Monday has been well received by Carnival and tourism stakeholders in both islands, who see the potential to boost Tobago’s tourism-dependent economy if things are done right. That means avoiding the pitfalls suffered by other cultural festivals which failed to bring in visitors and revenues on a scale that would benefit the island.
It would be unfortunate if Tobago Carnival goes the route of the Tobago Jazz Festival—later rebranded as the Tobago Jazz Experience—which never achieved the success of similar festivals in other parts of the Caribbean despite bringing in major music stars as headliners, including the legendary Sir Elton John and the late Whitney Houston.
The annual event, held in Plymouth in April, showed promise when it started in 2004 but by the 2008 edition, it had degenerated into a loss-making venture, costing $50 million to stage but barely mustering $17 million worth of ticket sales.
Even after its renaming, the music festival never lived up to its potential. Outside of T&T, it never generated sufficient interest to attract visitors in the numbers seen in other parts of the region.
It would be foolhardy to assume that this country’s lengthy record of accomplishments in staging Carnival means that the organisers of the October edition will automatically come up with the right formula for a blockbuster festival.
From the start, Tobago Carnival must prove that it can hold its own against the other festivals held throughout the year across the region. A well developed, focused marketing strategy, aimed at saturating all the potential markets for that type of event, particularly in Europe and North America, needs to be launched almost immediately.
The challenging work of selling a Tobago Carnival will also have to be backed by initiatives and unique features that will encourage visitors to the inaugural festival to return year after year.
If successful, the festival will be the pick-me-up that the island’s tourism industry desperately needs after years of decline made worse by COVID-19. Pre-pandemic, that industry accounted for almost 50 per cent of the island’s GDP and employed more than 56 per cent of its workforce.
The focus now should be on returning to and exceeding those levels.
Apart from Tobago Carnival, there are other promising developments for tourism on the island, including the construction of a new terminal at the ANR Robinson International Airport and projects in the hotel sector.
Apple Leisure Group was selected as the new operator for the Magdalena Hotel in Tobago, Sunwing Travel Group Inc. is taking over the management and rebranding of Turtle Beach Hotel and construction is starting on new properties, including a 200-room Marriott hotel at Rocky Point.
Taken altogether, these might just contribute to the boost that Tobago tourism needs.