Tobago Tourism Agency Hosts Curaçao Press Trip to Capitalize on New CAL Route
The Tobago Tourism Agency Limited partnered with Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to host a press trip with top media personnel from Curaçao from August 7-8, 2019, to capitalize on the opportunity to increase visitor arrivals to Tobago through a recently launched flight service between Curaçao and Trinidad.
CAL began providing direct flights between Curaçao and Trinidad on August 02, 2019, with a twice-weekly service on Mondays and Fridays. As Tobago's endeavors to increase arrivals from the regional market - a target outlined in the Tobago Tourism Agency's "Road Map for Growth" - the Agency sought to highlight the ease of connectivity between Tobago and Curaçao via Trinidad, and to promote the unique selling points of Tobago through the Curaçao media.
Tobago Tourism Agency officials led the delegation on an exciting two-day taster of Tobago, exposing them to an array of exciting activities which can be experienced on the island throughout the year. They were able to enjoy Tobago's eco-adventure assets, visiting the island's unspoilt beaches, untouched waterfalls and undiscovered trails in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. They also enjoyed historical and cultural activities, visiting some of the island's iconic Forts and monuments, and even engaging in a hands-on demonstration of crab and goat racing.
Oscar van Dam, a journalist from Curaçao's largest newspaper, Extra Curaçao, expressed his admiration for Tobago and the development of the various tourism sites and attractions.
"I'm really impressed [by Tobago] I must say. I'm impressed firstly by the beauty of the island- not only a very green island, but a very clean island. And I must say that tourism is very well developed, and that's something that we in Curaçao can learn from. We have like 150,000 people, we're a little bit bigger and also have sites, but not in the way that you created it. Now that we have the connection with Caribbean Airlines, we can come more often. Tobago is like a perfect example of how you create tourism, I think."
Van Dam also indicated that although the flight from Curaçao lands in Trinidad, he believes that visitors from his country would not hesitate to take the short domestic flight to Tobago to experience the cleanliness, nature, and well-developed sites.
"In Curaçao, we're accustomed. We go to Bonaire, that's 50 minutes, we go to Aruba… we're used to that in Curaçao, it's no problem," he said.
Tobago Tourism Agency officials were also interviewed by the various Curaçao media personnel on the press trip, in order to promote the unspoilt, untouched, undiscovered island of Tobago in the Curaçao television and press.