The Government is one step closer to finding a resolution to prevent Virgin Atlantic from withdrawing its weekly flight between London and Tobago from the 2013 summer season, said Tourism Minister Stephen Cadiz as he met with Virgin Atlantic officials on Tuesday.
In early December, Cadiz said Virgin Atlantic had signalled its intention to withdraw its summer service and if that came to pass, it would be a blow to Tobago's tourism.
In an interview with the Business Guardian on Tuesday, Cadiz said: "Right now, we are in discussions with Virgin Atlantic and Caribbean Airlines with a view to getting that sorted out. In fact, today I had discussions with both of them and it looks as though we have a solution to Virgin pulling their summer itinerary. As soon as that is finalised, we will let all know. I think we have a good solution based on what we were discussing. I think everybody was pleased with what we proposed."
Cadiz said getting T&T on the world map remains an issue.
According to Cadiz, the projection for arrivals for 2012 is 436,000 visitors. For 2013, arrivals are expected to be at 500,000.
Every Tuesday, Cadiz meets with stakeholders in Tobago to find out what are the issues facing tourism stakeholders. He said there is need to ensure tourism plans are at the level to market the destination properly.
"When I say plans, I am talking about the hotels and what have you. Some of it needs work. We are hoping we can get that going. Some of the hotels need refurbishing. Some need major refurbishing. One thing visitors look for, if you are looking at repeat visitors, repeat visitors to a destination always want to know there is something new and fresh and that has not happened in T&T, at least not for some time."
Asked about his projections for 2013, he said: "Based on the bookings that the hotels have, I think it is fairly healthy. Some of them are definitely up, as much as eight per cent over last year in Tobago. In Trinidad, the bookings are healthy. You have Carnival, so the bookings are healthy. We'll start off 2013 in a position that we can build on, without a doubt."
The budget allocated for marketing T&T is $72 million.
The incremental growth being forecast by T&T's Minister of Tourism is also being projected by regional tourism officials, who say the Caribbean tourism industry continued to show signs of recovery during 2012 fuelled by improvements in the United States and Canadian markets.
But Hugh Riley, secretary general of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), in a Christmas message warned that the region continued to face challenges in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom market, from which the numbers have been falling.
He said visitor spending has also been sluggish.
In a CMC wire service report on Tuesday, Riley said the latest figures on visitor arrivals show a five per cent increase rise and "there are clear signs that our performance in the US, our region's main source market, is improving, with arrival numbers up by 5.3 per cent."
He said the Canadian market has also showed growth, with total arrivals matching the US at 5.3 per cent.
"The UK, on the other hand, has recorded a decline of over six per cent. The Summer Olympics did have some effect, leading to marginal growth in the UK economy, which is still struggling to rebound".
Riley said a factor which the region cannot ignore is the "unfair and discriminatory" air passenger duty (APD) that is continuing to have a severe impact on the Caribbean tourism sector.
The APD, instituted in 1994, is a British environmental tax aimed at offsetting aviation's carbon footprint. In its initial stage, it was set at £5 (US$7.85) per person.
Regional governments have been lobbying London to remove the tax, which they said negatively affects the growth of the tourism industry since the Caribbean has been placed in a band that makes travel to the region much more expensive than travelling from London to the US.
"Much to the disappointment and frustration of the Caribbean, this crippling tax is due to rise even further in April 2013 while the discriminatory aspect of the distance 'banding' system remains. A family of four visiting the Caribbean and flying in economy will be expected to fork out £332 for APD -and double that amount for a few extra inches of leg room if they fly in any class above economy," Riley said.
Riley noted on the contrary, that same family would pay less APD to fly to US destinations that are far further away from London than any Caribbean country.
"This is an issue the CTO and its member countries and partners will continue to fight."
He said despite the many challenges which the Caribbean faced, "we got through 2012 with our chins up and our resolve unfazed.
"Many of our member countries have scored major successes regionally and internationally, often parlaying those wins to the benefit of their tourism sector.
"We at the CTO have been energised by our new vision "To position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by 2017" and the recently elected CTO chairman, Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty has begun her two-year tenure with a pledge to refocus attention on urgent and essential areas including aviation".
He said she immediately established an sviation task force to develop solutions to the region's aviation problems, including the issue of taxation.
"As we prepare to enter 2013, we look forward to working more closely with all of members and partners. As the international agency that leads tourism development in the Caribbean, we know there are plenty of opportunities to improve the quality and the value of the services we provide. We take our responsibility seriously and will use every resource available to us to improve the quality of life of all Caribbean people through tourism."