Port-of-Spain, Trinidad: Trinidad and Tobago showcases soft adventure and eco offerings as The Tourism Development Company Ltd. (TDC) will host a group of Scandinavian journalists from October 5th to 11th
The five-member press group includes Elsbeth Mouritzen a journalist and editor writing on travel, lifestyle and design for Berlingske Media, which boasts a daily readership of 74,000, and Sara Amos Pedersen a travel writer for Jyllands Posten, Denmark’s third largest national newspaper.
In addition to experiencing Trinidad And Tobago’s soft adventure offerings on both islands, the visiting journalists will also have an opportunity to sample culinary and cultural attractions. The Scandinavian press trip closely follows a recently concluded three day familiarization (FAM) hosted by the TDC for eco and soft adventure tour operators from the United States.
Facilitated by TDC’s sales and marketing representation company, The Travel Marketing Network (TTMN), the FAM was held from August 19th to 22nd, and allowed six tour operators to experience some of the islands’ popular eco and soft adventure tourism activities such as snorkelling at Buccoo Reef, exploration of the Gasparee Caves and turtle watching at Grande Riviere on Trinidad’s rugged north-east coast.
Impressed by diversity of the dual-island destination, Mariaana Jamadi of Nomadic Habit, described her experience as amazing. “I cannot stop talking about it and cannot wait to come back. The FAM trip opened up my soul to new possibilities and created an environment to make my tours more successful,” Jamadi explained.
Just one week after the FAM trip, the participants reported an increase in interest and bookings to Trinidad and Tobago. Green Edventures, one of the agents which participated in the August FAM, has already sold three group tours for 2016 and El Camino Travel is currently building a culture/adventure tour package to Trinidad and Tobago for 2016 in collaboration with local eco-community Paria Springs.
Following the success of the August FAM, TDC and TTMN are organizing three additional trips for 2015 including a FAM for Birding Tour Operators, a culture and culinary FAM for travel agents and one-on-one meetings with US wholesalers, tour operators and online travel agencies for local hotels and other private sector stakeholders. Participants for these FAMs will be selected from more than 200 agents who are participating in the Trinidad and Tobago Specialist Program, a training initiative designed specifically for travel agents.
Launched in 2013, TDC’s soft adventure FAMs offers international media and members of the travel trade a dynamic opportunity to experience Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism product while developing relationships with local tourism operators.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization reported that many tour operators specialising in soft adventure holidays are reporting annual growth rates of between 15-20 per cent. Most notably, the US soft adventure market is growing considerably and has increased visitor arrivals to Trinidad and Tobago by 16.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2014.
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