Plot to kill tourism?

[JerryT]

I found this on the web while Googling for comments on the Tobago jazz festivals last month. I post it in this section because of the security aspect. It will be interesting to read any comments.

Plot to kill tourism?
By: Martin George

... For all the billions of dollars we have spent on tourism in this country, what do we have to show? We have an elderly Swedish couple murdered at Bon Accord; Queen Latifah and her entourage distressed by a burglary at their villa at Stonehaven; English tourists raped and violated, and an American businessman attacked, beaten and robbed at his villa at Canoe Bay. And as if this were not enough, to add insult to injury, the police seem clueless, and most of these perpetrators are at large, ready, willing and waiting to strike again, and laughing at the police and the nation in the process. Our Christmas staff function was held this year at Stonehaven Villas, and it is, quite possibly, the most elegant and exclusive vacation property in Tobago. Tobago already has lost the Hilton; does it want to lose Stonehaven, too?

Tobago is a small place where, by and large, people still know each other, and can spot a strange face in a village or neighbourhood, so don’t tell me that people out there don’t have the information as to who has been committing these crimes. It is known throughout Tobago that the village of Bethel and its surrounding areas have served as a breeding ground and nesting place for criminals. They descend at nights in droves to the nearby upscale properties at Mt Irvine, Black Rock, Mt Pleasant, Bethany and other districts and wreak havoc.

Robberies, rapes and other acts are committed with a frequency, intensity and savagery well beyond what is often reported in the media, as most victims just pack up and leave quietly, vowing never to return, and trying as much as possible to avoid the public spectacle of it all... After all the billions of dollars, all the ole talk, the rhetoric and grandstanding, with little or no results to show, what then can we conclude about our tourism situation, other than there may really be a plot to kill off tourism in Tobago?

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Jerry

Martin George has long enjoyed rattling the cages of those in power and . I can see exactly where he is coming from on this. I will refrain from detailed comment because I try not to be political. In fact I loathe all politicians and totally subscribe to the theory that anybody who puts themselves up for public office should, by definition, be disbarred from the job. To be honest, the authorities on T&T couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery. They really haven't a clue. No, I don't agree that there is an organised plot – but I can’t get the words ‘incompetence’, ‘corruption’ and ‘racism’ out of my head.

[Andy K]

Folks,

i vaguely remember a statistics i heard back then in 1996 when i first came to the island.
It said something like only 30% of the population of Tobago work in a normal job. Out of these 30%, approx. 70%
have jobs in the government sector. The small rest of it, approx. 4,500 people, work in the private sector which of course is only partly tourism as such.
I don't think much of that has changed over the years.

Even though there may be most of the families with somebody working in the tourism industry, the majority of funds
for Tobago comes from Trinidad out of the "oil and gas money". Some Tobagonians may not like "Trinis" and may show
that openly, but they have absolutely no clue how they would survive without the permanent cashflow coming from
Trinidad, after agriculture was basically abandoned in the 1960s and 70s.
Some of them may not like tourism and they give a darn about what is going on there AND they may not like Trinis and Trinidad. But they still live reasonably well and consume what the central government gives them.
Right now, and since years, the ruling party in both the central government and in the Tobago House of Assembly is the same. That makes it very easy and people tend to forget how it could be if the political constellation was different.

Knowing those circumstances it is easy to understand why you will find a certain percentage of people in Tobago being averse to tourism for different reasons. I don't want to believe though, and here i definately agree with Steve, that
there is any organized plot against tourism in Tobago. (I may ask the question if there is anything organized in Tobago )

Tobago would not fall into poverty with a reduced amount of tourism, the government in Trinidad will pay anyway. In this comfortable financial cushion, some Tobagonians, including some in important positions, may not be inclined to do much to make Tobago more beautiful, safer and more attractive for tourists. Unfortunately.

And: Tobago will never be another Barbados. Fortunately !