WHY is there all this preoccupation with the development of a Tobago Sandals Resort?

I thought that the matter was settled years ago.

The underlying Sandals question is whether Tobago wants to develop land at Buccoo into a high-end, couples only, all-inclusive, foreign-owned tourist accommodation resort.

The rationale provided for this proposed development and the development at Rocky Bay (Mt Irvine Back Bay) is that Tobago tourism needs more international direct flights into Tobago, and this requires more four and five star accommodation available for potential visitors.

This argument to increase the number of hotel rooms is being put forward even as the current occupancy in the neighbouring beachside hotels, Magdalena, Mt Irvine, Grand Courland, Grafton Beach, and Starfish are extraordinarily low.

It is being put forward even as there seems to be lots of unsold seats on the existing international flights to Tobago.

The reality is that there is not enough demand for Tobago hotel rooms, and increasing the supply is unlikely to solve this. The number of international visitors to Tobago has steadily declined since 2005.

There are probably many reasons for this. But chief among them is the growing reputation of T&T as an unsafe place to visit.

Increasingly, women are on the move. More than 64% of the world’s travellers are women, with 82% responsible for making a family’s travel decisions, according to the BBC. One of the primary criteria for their destination choice is ‘safety.’ The State of Emergency and its widespread international broadcasting has had a significant negative effect on Tobago as a desirable destination.

The complete closure of T&T’s borders for ?? months during Covid and the closure of the beaches even after the borders were open have also affected Tobago’s tourist reputation negatively. It is no surprise that Barbados never closed its borders during Covid 19.

Many travellers are also choosing cruise ship vacations, negating the need for hotel rooms. Cruise travel is the fastest growing travel segment in the world today.

The Buccoo land proposed for the Sandals development and the Rocky Bay land proposed for the Marriott development are unique in the world. They are beautiful areas of natural Caribbean beach coastline which are very accessible to visitors. Furthermore, Buccoo is an ecosystem vital to wildlife, fisheries and the natural aesthetic of Tobago.

Through their development, we risk losing the very things that attract people to Tobago.

They represent that “untouched,” “unspoiled” image of Tobago that Tobago’s Tourism Agency Limited (TTAL) promotes.

It is very puzzling to understand why the Trinidad government leaders are pushing so hard for Sandals.

This is because Tobago’s tourism strategy is one which targets ecotourists, and the promotion of festivals and culinary experiences to demonstrate the island’s multi ethnicity. This is a strategy which will take some time to show sustainable results, but one which is based on Tobago’s current visitor profile and its most competitive assets.

Tobago visitors are Trinis, Trini diaspora, and families seeking more affordable accommodations than the other islands offer. They are bird watchers, scuba divers, snorkelers, deep sea fishermen, rainforest explorers. They are folks who like talking to locals.

I mentioned to someone that people will come to Tobago because we have the most beautiful variety of beaches. She said, “All the islands have beautiful beaches. What we need is four and five star accommodation.”

I think it’s the other way around. All the other islands have four and five-star resorts. What we have are the untouched, unspoiled coastlines that are difficult to find anywhere else.

No, I don’t buy the argument that to fill the current hotel rooms, we need to build more.

And, I don’t think that the government should invest or grant subsidies or concessions for the development of additional rooms, especially in these uncertain economic times, and when the threat of ‘overtourism’ is real (just ask people living in Venice or Barcelona, or, visit Pigeon Point on Cruise Ship Day.)

And I certainly believe that any development should comply with all environmental regulations.

Maybe everybody would be happier if Sandals or Marriott could buy one of the existing underutilised beach resorts and convert them into the resort of their vision.

That would leave the rest of us to create the Tobago of our vision; one which is ‘clean, green, safe and serene.’