It is that time again when hundreds of tourists, domestic and foreign, will head to Tobago for one of the country's biggest jazz festivals: the Tobago Jazz Experience, coordinated by John Arnold.Nirad Tewarie, CEO of the T&T Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI), and jazz enthusiast Helen Kennedy said many benefits come from such events. Tewarie and Arnold said people must be willing to work to benefit from the opportunities.
Nirad Tewarie, in an interview last week, said the copyright industries in T&T are net revenue earners, and that there is vast potential for net foreign exchange earning.Last year, Tewarie said, the event earned US$25 million. The creative industries, he said, were key sectors for T&T's economic diversification.
He said many would gain, both directly and indirectly, from events such as the Tobago Jazz Experience and the Tobago Fashion Weekend, but people had to work for the benefits, and be alert to the opportunities for collaborations.Asked how the average citizen stood to benefit from the jazz event, Tewarie said:
"Different people answer that differently. If overall economy is growing, the lazy man on the street would not benefit. Entrepreneurs–people selling, once they are willing to work–will benefit."
Networking benefits
He gave the example of sound engineers and producers, among other skilled people, who could benefit financially as well as through exposure from such concerts and creative or entertainment events."We need to use these events to work with artistes who are internationally known. We would include local artistes who have international viability and include them in the programming," he said.
Tobago Jazz Experience coordinator John Arnold agreed that while there were many opportunities to collaborate, people still had to work for them.Arnold gave the examples of vendors, bar owners and cleaning services. He said the jazz show events accommodate 36 vendors, all of whom, he said, were small, local entrepreneurs from the immediate community who would benefit.
From the pre-show events that build up to the major jazz event, he said Tobago village councils would also benefit financially, from bar sales and from income from cleaning services.Asked if there were concrete numbers which showed how much the average man on the street earned from such large events, Arnold said such data had not been collected.
Arnold said the number of music bands and sound and lighting services were increasing on the island as the jazz festival grew. He used the village of Castara as an example, where he said many tourists experienced the culture of the village (such as the 31 guest houses, and the dirt ovens), while the villagers also earned some tourist income.
Opportunities for entrepreneurs
Jazz lover Helen Kennedy also saw benefits from concert events.She said the Tobago Jazz Experience, while a celebration of jazz and indigenous music, is also "so much more than a music festival. It is most certainly an opportunity to showcase Tobago to the world in a manner that creates tremendous potential benefit to the economy of T&T. The event attracts a cross-section of local, regional and international patrons, with varied interests."
Local handicrafts, she said, could benefit if marketed properly."All products and services which are part and parcel of the Tobago Jazz Experience have the potential to create economic benefit, if marketed appropriately.
"For example, during the event, emerging acts obtain opportunities to perform for large audiences–and this increases not only their visibility but their ability to obtain future employment, both locally and abroad. Food service operators derive economic benefit through the sale of food at the various events, but can also create opportunities to obtain contracts for events like all-inclusive fetes, which are becoming quite common in Tobago.
"Individuals who offer locally made items such as clothing, crafts, jewellery, condiments, confectionery and other similar items, earn revenue from the sale at the events, and are also well poised to generate interest in the export potential of these items."The marketing of Tobago's potential, during the Tobago Jazz Experience, as a destination for specific types of events–for example, conferences–could be considered, in light of the large and varied audience," she said.
