By Elizabeth Williams

Story Created: Jul 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM ECT
Story Updated: Jul 7, 2011 at 11:59 PM ECT

President of the Hotel and Tourism Association Carol Ann Birchwood- James has confirmed that two restaurants in the western part of Tobago were forced to close recently. She said, while this is worrying, it is a natural consequence of having fewer visitors to the island.
Tobago News understands that the restaurants were unable to meet their financial obligation because of significantly diminished sales. Several other hotels are also reporting that they too might be forced to cease operations if the current trend continues. "We understand the urgency of the situation, we understand, that it is not business as usual, and therefore the only thing that we can do, is to wrap up our marketing efforts," Birchwood–James said.
She added that it is necessary for hotels and restaurants to re-examine their pricing, given the present scenario."You have to watch your menu, you have to watch what you are offering to our visitors, and your pricing. We are in a challenging climate and therefore everybody has to understand that we are in survival mode. So until we have our overseas representative, our marketing plan for 2012 can kick in. We have immediate marketing plans for the July and August. We have to watch what we do in our establishment, and try and make sure we can survive this period, because better days are going to happen," she stated.
Restaurants are not the only ones feeling the pinch, but the accommodation sector as well.
Asked to comment on the situation, Tourism Secretary Oswald Williams told Tobago News the fact that some restaurants have closed entirely in Tobago is unfortunate because nobody wants to hear about an establishment folding. He added that such a situation is a challenge to the owners and sends a negative signal to the market.
"We do believe that the conversation must continue, we continue to put things in place, we are working, we keep trying to get the additional airlift. We keep working in support of the process of having some upgrade. Of course we have been making the representation in other areas," Williams said.
Williams stressed there is light at the end of the tunnel. He said based on the forward accounts from the 'Tobago Go Go program,' there are some forward bookings, that will come in over the next few months, because that program included bookings all the way up to the middle of December.
"According to the numbers that are coming in from the various operators and so on, we expect to see some improvement in the arrivals. So we are working to ensure things pick up in the short term," Williams stressed.
So why can Tobago still not get it right? Birchwood- James said she has continued to say that Tobago needs to be trail blazers. The tourism President said it is imperative for stakeholders to come together and have a week long conversation about the marketing of Trinidad and Tobago.
"We need to sit down with some of our best minds, to look at innovative and creative ways, in which we can market this great country of ours. The combination of Trinidad and Tobago is a very dynamic and unique conversation as far as our country is concerned. We need to do things out of the box unusual. Cultural tourism accounts for 12 per cent of arrivals in the Caribbean, so cultural tourism is a good thing, but we also need to look at innovative ways of showcasing our culture to our visitors, whether local or foreign," she said.