No mass tourism here: the island of Tobago is clean, green, safe, and serene.

As it develops its tourism sector, T&T is aiming to attract everyone from business people to divers and cruise ship passengers

ACCORDING to the World Travel and Tourism Council, Trinidad and Tobago is in prime position to develop a diverse, high quality and sustainable tourism industry. The organization forecasts growth in the sector of 5.2 percent per annum up to 2015, making Trinidad and Tobago the second fastest growing travel and tourism economy in the Caribbean.

The two islands complement one another in their appeal. Trinidad is vibrant with energy, business, culture, and events. Its attractions include one of the most spectacular carnivals in the world—attended by more than 50,000 visitors last year. Business tourism is on the increase, and Port of Spain is being positioned as the meetings and conference capital of the Southern Caribbean and the business center of the sub-region.

Tobago, on the other hand, is one of the Caribbean’s most unspoiled islands, offering its visitors peace, tranquility, beautiful beaches, and coral reefs. Rated among the world’s top destinations for eco-tourism, it boasts the world’s oldest protected rainforest. Diving is a huge attraction, as the surrounding waters are exceptionally clear and there is abundant marine life, along with giant leatherback turtles nesting on the beaches every year.

Together, the two islands attract approximately 460,000 tourists a year. Most are from Europe — principally the U.K. and Germany — and North America. But an increasing number come from within the Caribbean region itself, and cruise ship arrivals are also rising: trends the authorities are eager to encourage.

There are plans to bring the tourism product on both islands up to internationally competitive levels, including upgrading the existing room stock and providing new accommodation led by the five-star end of the market.

ORVILLE LONDON Chief Secretary Tobago House of Assembly

Neil Wilson, Tobago’s Secretary for Tourism, Transportation, Enterprise Development and Settlements, wants to see more visitors from the United States. “It is a natural progression that we should be ready to move on to the United States for some of our business, rather than depending so predominantly on the European market,” he says.

He stresses, however, that development of the sector is not being rushed on Tobago, and will be handled sensitively. “We are gearing our tourism not as an exclusive product for tourists, but as part of the facilities that are made available for the people of the island,” he says. “We are taking our time to develop it and conserving our natural heritage, our environment. We are not going to compromise that for anybody. We are looking at what the island can comfortably sustain in terms of its environment and its infrastructure.”

Orville London, Chief Secretary of the local government body the Tobago House of Assembly, says the challenge is to ensure that the island, its culture and its ambience are preserved. “We are not into mass tourism. We have a relatively laid-back atmosphere,” he says. “One of the things we have been concentrating on is ensuring that we have people trained to participate in the industry. We try to get the people to realize that tourism is important to their quality of life and should be treated in a special kind of way.”