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New Tourism Secretary beckons cruisers to discover Trinidad and Tobago

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'A lot to offer in terms of our people and our natural attributes' - Vidiah Ramkhelawan (Photo: Anne Kalosh)
A melting pot of cultures, music ranging from steel pan and calypso to parang, culinary richness, biodiversity and festivals including the Caribbean's biggest and best known Carnival.

Trinidad and Tobago—'one destination, two experiences'—offer all these things yet remain relatively undiscovered by the cruise industry.

The country's new permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, an experienced cruiser herself, would like to change that.

In her first official overseas trip since being appointed in July, Vidiah Ramkhelawan led a delegation to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference & Trade Show in Puerto Rico.

'We have a lot to offer in terms of our people and our natural attributes,' Ramkhelawan said.

'We know the cruise industry is growing. We would like to benefit from it ... There's a lot of potential. The Caribbean economies are all experiencing difficulties at this time. But the cruise industry is one of the activities we can use to diversify the economy.'

Also, cruise tourism 'helps to sell our people, not only our natural attributes but our human resources,' Ramkhelawan added.

Exploring the possibilities for growing cruise tourism and strengthening ties with other Southern Caribbean destinations were among the benefits of attending the FCCA event, according to the permanent secretary.

The Trinidad and Tobago delegation met with a number of cruise lines there.

'We know we have some work to do,' Ramkhelawan said. Trinidad and Tobago are 'upgrading and enhancing existing facilities to make our product more interesting and attractive' while also aggressively training workers throughout the tourism sector to ensure a quality product and services.

Visitor experiences are being expanded, too. Capitalizing on festivals and food, for example, people can take part in immersive activities like costume-making and cooking classes.

When it comes to nature, Trinidad is one of the Caribbean's top birding destinations, and its Asa Wright Nature Centre is world famous. Tobago is known as an ecotourism destination, and its Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve, established in 1776, is the hemisphere's oldest protected nature area. New ways of experiencing the nature include a canopy zip line planned to open in the Reserve in early 2017.

'We expect to be included on more and more cruise itineraries to the Southern Caribbean,' said Greer Assam, cruise market specialist, Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Development Co., who welcomed the new permanent secretary: 'We are very happy to have her on board and working with us.'

MSC Cruises will stop regularly during the upcoming season. From December to March MSC Poesia will call on seven-night cruises from Guadeloupe. In the 2017/18 season, AIDA Cruises will return after a three-year gap. Assam said Trinidad and Tobago are also working to win more calls from Carnival Cruise Line, which first visited Tobago earlier this year as part of its longer 'Carnival Journeys' program.

'I'm very optimistic' about attracting more cruise visitors, Ramkhelawan said, adding that Trinidad and Tobago hope to welcome people back for a vacation after they've visited by ship.