26th September 2008

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO BRINGS THE TRUE CARIBBEAN TO
WORLD TRAVEL MARKET,10 - 13 NOVEMBER 2008
Stand CA1025

The Tourism Development Company (TDC) of Trinidad & Tobago will be welcoming visiting tourism officials and media to experience the ‘True Caribbean’ at its WTM 2009 stand (CA1025). Delegates visiting the stand will find out what is happening in Trinidad & Tobago in 2009, meet over 100 of the islands’ stakeholders and even take a 20 minute simulated flight in Trinbago Air’s carbon-free flight deck, located on the upstairs of the stand.

Trinibago Air’s flight deck, which debuted on the stand at WTM 2007, will look exactly like the inside of an aeroplane and, upon boarding, passengers will be greeted by a flight attendant, seated and given the opportunity to experience the sights, sounds and smells of Trinidad & Tobago as well as film footage of the islands.   

This year Trinidad & Tobago will launch its school programme, ‘Sounds Like Tobago’ at WTM. The initiative will allow UK primary school children between 5-11 years of age to discover Tobago through a series of fun projects, supported by specially designed packs that include games, puzzles and a competition to design a steel pan. The competition will be judged by tourism officials from Tobago who will visit the schools every three months from March 2009.  The lucky winners will get to travel to the island to see their steel pan design being made. ‘Sounds Like Tobago’ will have a dedicated web site, www.soundsliketobago.com, which will be run by children from both countries to further cement community links and exchange programmes between the UK and Tobago.

The TDC of Trinidad & Tobago will also launch its plans for sports tourism in 2009. A number of sports tourism initiatives will be announced at Trinidad & Tobago’s WTM 2009 stand by Trinbagoan special guests Dwight Yorke and Brian Lara. The initiatives will bring to life the sporting opportunities on the islands, which range from football, cricket and athletics to fishing, kayaking and surfing.  Event highlights next year include the five day test match between England & the West Indies, which is taking place in Trinidad in 2009, as well as the 20/20 cricket.

To thank all of the agents who have completed the Trinidad & Tobago online training course, Learn TNT (www.learntnt.com), and to celebrate the agents who have registered their Trinidad & Tobago bookings as part of the Take Some Time Out trade incentive, Trinidad & Tobago will be throwing an invitation-only, VIP, Steely Pan Agents’ Party on Wednesday 12th November at Caribbean Scene Restaurant, ExCeL, Marina. Live entertainment from international artists as well as Caribbean food and drink will ensure a great night.

The Take Some Time Out trade incentive will continue to run throughout 2009 with some new features and exciting agent incentives. All agents who register their bookings with Trinidad & Tobago on www.takesometimeout.com will continue to be entered into a monthly draw in 2009 to win prizes, including much-coveted places on several fun-packed FAM trips taking place next year.

Key stakeholders from Trinidad & Tobago will be profiling a number of new hotel developments at WTM this year, including the refurbishment of the Grafton Beach Hotel and Le Grand Courlan & Spa in Tobago, as well as the opening of the Bacolet Beach Club, Tobago - a four-star exclusive boutique hotel, restaurant and bar. Additionally, three new hotel developments in Tobago are well underway. Indigo Bay is a brand new four-star, 80-suite hotel with beautiful sea views, just a few steps from the beach in Little Rockly Bay, and will open in April 2009. The Golden Grove, an integrated hotel and resort project in the South West of Tobago, and the Culloden Eco-Resort project on the Northern Coast of the Tobago will be opening in mid-2009 & 2010. In Trinidad, Inn at 87, a luxurious new boutique hotel, has now opened in the historical area of Newtown, Port of Spain.

Trinidad & Tobago will be announcing the line-up of the 2009 Plymouth Jazz Festival at WTM 2009. In previous years the Plymouth Jazz Festival line-ups have included prestigious, world-renowned artists such as Elton John, Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Sting, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston. The event will take place April 20th-26th 2009 starting with jazz on the fringe and pan jazz. 

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad on November 27-29, 2009, providing further proof that Trinidad & Tobago are home to some of the best meetings and incentives facilities in the Caribbean. Thriving and energetic, the islands of Trinidad & Tobago are getting serious about meetings and incentives with the Government investing TT$ 1.8 billion to improve the islands’ infrastructure. The twin islands combine the sun and sea ethos of the Caribbean with the dynamic cultural influences of South America, Africa and Asia. Delegates representing business hotels in Trinidad such as Hilton, Hyatt Regency, Holiday Inn Express and Courtyard Marriott will all be on hand to demonstrate the islands’ second-to-none business acumen and provide updates on why doing business in Trinidad & Tobago is always a pleasure.

Further information about Trinidad & Tobago is available at www.gotrinidadandtobago.com. Trade information about the islands can be found at www.takesometimeout.com  

- Ends -
Media requiring further information or wishing to set up appointments
with visiting delegates from Trinidad & Tobago should contact Fleishman-Hillard on
0207 306 9000 / trinidadandtobago@fleishmaneurope.com