TT gov't to pump $$M to refurbish private tourism facilities

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago announced Thursday that it will invest $20.7 million from the 2010 budget in tourism support, providing the money to the private sector owners/operators of hotels and guest houses to upgrade their facilities.

Tourism Minister Joseph Ross told reporters this investment is needed because tourism is at risk because of minimal tourist arrivals and an aggressive tourism thrust by other regional states.

He said one way to attract tourist to ensure that service gets better. “Travellers won’t put up with sub-standard service,” he said.

“At some point, Government has to step in to assist some of the hoteliers and stakeholders in the business. In this case we’ve been receiving a lot of complaints about the quality of our hotel rooms...and some hoteliers were unable to finance necessary repairs. Government had to assist.”

Tobago depends heavily tourism revenue and the state of the rooms in Tobago is really bad, the minister noted. He said the risk of hotel closures would have serious negative consequences for the economy and for the thousands of persons employed in the sector.

Ross said the financial assistance will be for hotels and guest houses that have fewer than 100 rooms. They must also be registered as tourism accmodation and must older than four years.

The minister explained that government will reimburse the cost of the upgrades up to $12,500 per room for facilities in Trinidad and $15,000 per room in Tobago. More than 2,000 rooms would qualify for assistance, Ross said, pointing out that upgrades would include an extensive shopping list from structural work to fittings and furnishings.

The government announcement comes on the heels of the latest quarterly report that shows a dramatic decline in tourism in the Caribbean due to the global economic crisis.

Of the 14 countries surveyed for the report, only three showed signs of improvement - Cuba (2%), Grenada (1.8%) and Jamaica (2.3%).

The report said while this performance "is highly positive in comparison to regional trends, it remains well below the growth rates of 8-10 per cent annually registered prior to the global economic slowdown."

It said many countries suffered heavily, with arrivals slumping by up to 20 per cent over the previous year. The worst performing ones were Anguilla (-21.4%), St Maarten (-16.1%), and Barbados and the Cayman Islands (both contracting by 14.3%), the report said.

According to the report, the Caribbean is suffering particularly heavily from the global tourism slowdown owing to its status as a relatively expensive destination. "As a result, while high-end tourists are continuing to visit the region, lower-end tourists may be choosing to visit less expensive holiday destinations."

It also noted that the current hurricane season "will weigh on arrivals yet further".