Trinidad &Tobago’s Tourism Industry setting up Crisis Plans

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Strategies and guidelines are being developed to minimize the impact of crises on Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T’s) tourism industry. The process started at a Crisis Communications workshop hosted by the Tourism Ministry at the Cascadia Hotel on May 8-9.

Participating in the workshop were hotel owners and operators, local tour operators, senior executives in the travel and tourism sector, airline operators, T&T’s international marketing representatives and senior representatives from the Ministry of National Security including police, defense force and the marine unit.

In his feature address at the opening Tourism Minister Howard Chin-Lee said “We are here today to understand better, how we can put in place more effective policies, strategies, and guidelines to minimize the impact of crises on our tourism economy”.

Minister Chin-Lee said crises threatening the global tourism industry included: terrorism, avian flu, civil unrest, natural disasters and crime. It is important to build and maintain high levels of confidence among visitors who are increasingly sophisticated, and informed about thousands of options.

UK Crisis Management expert Dr. David Perl gave important tips for handling a crisis. They included: risk assessment, plan preparation, rapid response, showing care and compassion, having strong and visible leadership, and getting additional expertise if needed.

Tourism accounts for 14% of T&T’s GDP and is especially important to Tobago’s economy, accounting for over 57% of the island’s employment.