Hotelier Rajiv Shandilya is new chairman of Tourist Board

Tourism Minister Dr Rupert Griffith poses with TDC's new chairman and Deputy chair

Tourism Minister Dr Rupert Griffith formally installed members of a new board for the Tourism Development company (TDC).

The Chief Executive Officer of the Chancellor Hotel and Conference Centre, Rajiv Omah-Maharaj Shandilya is the chairman. The deputy chair is Miss Universe 1977, Janelle Penny Commissiong-Chow.

Other board members are:

• Carol Ann Birchwood James
• Cheryl Dubay-Tewarie
• Clyde H. Adams
• Dr Allan Bachan
• Dyanand Maharaj
• Ferosza Khan-Abdul
• Premanand Badalloo
• Ryan D’Arcy
• Sasha Balkara
• Vindra Amar

Tourism Minister, Rupert Griffith said he expects the board to ensure the continuous upgrade and consistent maintenance of the country’s tourism products with accountability and transparency in all transactions.

He said members were carefully selected to include competent individuals who are experienced in the areas of sales and marketing, finance and project management, as well as tourism and hospitality.

“Some of the new board members are also the owners and operators of highly successful award winning businesses. This synergy of skills set is critical to the effective and efficient operations of TDC, and will allow much-needed changes to be made,” he said.

The minister urged the board to forge strong public-private relationships and work closely with the Tobago House of Assembly and other tourism stakeholders.

Griffith offered the board some guidelines. “We must use our creative talents—such as our music and gifted sportsmen and women, artists and world celebrities—to raise our profile internationally and promote Trinidad and Tobago as a tourism destination,” he said.

He also called for more effective use of the country’s overseas missions and six overseas marketing representatives in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Scandinavia and India.

Shandilya pledged to uphold the mandate of the board. “We have to ensure that TT is known, no longer want to be a secret, we need to use the instruments the world has provided us especially in terms of ICT,” he said.

The government has developed a 15-Month Tourism Action Plan, which is one of a series of initiatives to revitalise Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism industry. The details of the plan will be revealed in the first quarter of next year.