Combating Crime against Tourists in the land of Calypso

A telephone call from a British tourism crisis management colleague, Dr David Perl CEO of Docleaf in late April inviting me to co-facilitate at a series of crisis management conferences in Trinidad & Tobago in early May, elicited the initial response, “what possible tourism crisis could exist in the land of West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara?”

It became clear to me though, that in the field of tourism crisis management one is often obliged to undertake a crash course on the destination and its crisis management issues. 

As you may know, Trinidad & Tobago, located at the south-east extremity of the West Indies literally a few kms off the coast of Venezuela, is an English speaking, two island country.  The larger island, Trinidad has significant deposits of oil and gas and by the regional standards of Caribbean island nations, Trinidad & Tobago is one of the wealthier island countries.

It is also the most multi-cultural Caribbean nation with roughly 40% of its population African in origin, 40% Indian descent, the remainder from all over the world and Tourism Minister, The Hon. Howard Chin Lee of Chinese descent.

The world famous annual Carnival held in February is an exuberant celebration of Trinidad and Tobago’s ethnic and cultural diversity, with the nation being the spiritual home of calypso music, boasting magnificent scenery, verdant unspoiled rainforests, golden beaches and a tourism infrastructure which tends to blend into, rather than clash, with the environment.

So, what is their crisis? 

Sadly, Trinidad & Tobago’s major social problem is crime and in common with many resource rich countries, Trinidad & Tobago’s oil wealth does not guarantee a high standard of living for all its 1.3 million citizens.

Violent crime appears to be a national social problem and in recent months several attacks against tourists have begun to generate both negative publicity in the North American and European media and negative travel advisories from many of the county’s key source markets.    

From personal observation, Trinidad & Tobago treat the issue of crime very seriously, with the Government having made strenuous efforts to stem the crime rate nationally and especially crime against tourists, critical to the nation’s economic well-being, as the economy has a 97% financial reliance on tourism, with nationally tourism being regarded as the economic power house of the future.

The tourism and hospitality industry has introduced a range of security measures to heighten tourist safety and in Tobago, the most visited part of the country, an army unit has become involved in patrols in popular tourist sites, acting as a visible deterrent to criminal elements. 

In addition to upgrading its own security and policing resources, the Trinidad & Tobago government invited a group of senior police from Britain’s famed Scotland Yard to provide first-hand advice on policing in tourism areas.

To place the issue in perspective though, the overwhelming majority of visitors to Trinidad & Tobago are warmly welcomed by an overwhelmingly friendly people, have a wonderful time and leave intact. 

Nevertheless, the primary challenge for the Trinidad & Tobago tourism industry is to overcome negative perceptions in major source markets.  For some good news, while I was there I met a group of 20 British travel agents on a familiarisation trip, all of whom enthusiastically stated they would have no hesitation in selling Trinidad & Tobago to their clients.  

The crisis management workshops I attended, initiated by the Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Tourism and attended by over 150 leaders of the country’s tourism industry were designed to provide strategies to challenge negative perceptions of the country.  The leadership of the Trinidad & Tobago tourism industry are already well advanced in implementing their recovery marketing programme and the workshops contributed a forum for some new ideas and approaches.

I came to the conclusion though that Trinidad & Tobago’s “crisis” was potentially more one of perception than of reality.  

Trinidad & Tobago’s main source markets are the USA, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany and neighbouring Caribbean countries all of which are serviced by direct flights to either Port of Spain in Trinidad or direct to Tobago.

Australian cricket fans will certainly visit Trinidad & Tobago as part of a broader Caribbean itinerary during the 2007 Cricket World Cup and they will experience a long journey!  From Australia’s East coast the most direct route to Trinidad & Tobago’s capital Port of Spain, is via Los Angeles and Miami and an overnight stop in either city is highly recommended!

However, as a growing number of Australians are discovering, the long journey to Trinidad & Tobago is soon forgotten by a highly rewarding experience to a destination which encapsulates the true spirit of the Caribbean and of course Calypso!!

A report by David Beirman

David Beirman is Director of Struan & Associates Tourism Crisis and Recovery specialists.

T: 0419 615 479

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