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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 11 March 2010 13:29 |
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- In 2008 the government of Trinidad and Tobago recognized the importance of business tourism and agreed to the establishment of a national Convention Bureau, with the mandate to position Port of Spain as the Meetings and Conference Capital of the Southern Caribbean.
Trinidad and Tobago is now poised to build upon the platform of its energy sector-generated commercial traffic to develop the important, and high yielding, discretionary business travel market.
Through the implementation of a targeted marketing strategy, the newly established Trinidad and Tobago Convention Bureau (TTCB) is working to increase the country’s share in this lucrative international, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions market.
Over the last few years Trinidad and Tobago has developed a track record for successfully hosting several major and very prestigious conferences including the Caribbean Hotel Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) (2008), the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Conference (2008), and more recently, the Summit of the Americas (2009) and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (2009).
The capital city of Port of Spain boasts the largest conference facilities in the English speaking Caribbean including the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, with 43,000 square feet of meeting space complete with break-out rooms and top notch technology- and the Hilton Trinidad Conference Centre, with 40,000 square feet of meeting space. Other options for large events include the Cascadia Hotel and Conference Centre, the Crowne Plaza and the theatre of the new National Academy of the Performing Arts.
Port of Spain also has a range of accommodation options from luxury boutique hotels and first class international properties to smaller hotels and guesthouses. The Kapok Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, Carlton Savannah and Cara Suites Hotel are among those that can provide excellent meeting spaces for smaller meeting needs.
On Trinidad’s sister isle of Tobago, the Mt Irvine Bay Hotel and Golf Club, Tropikist Beach Hotel, Grafton Beach Resort and Coco Reef Resort and Spa also offer facilities for smaller meetings.
All of the business hotels are equipped with state of the art facilities, technical support and business amenities.
Moreover, the destination is endowed with unique creativity and experience in staging memorable events, and with the ingenuity and energy of some of our internationally recognized and world class event designers and planners, such as Peter Minshall and Brian Mc Farlane, coupled with a burgeoning events industry supplier segment in Trinidad and Tobago, we are well positioned to exploit our comparative advantage in this area.
Trinidad and Tobago is served by 19 international airlines with direct service to more destinations and connection hubs than any other country in the Southern Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago also affords easy access to key business markets throughout the region, especially those in North America and Europe with about 140,000 seats per month.
This country has a diverse and rich cultural tradition and this is evidenced by museums, art galleries, historic sites, recreational spaces and theatres all within walking distance of major hotels and conference facilities. The city of Port of Spain also offers a rich-ranging shopping experience, and exciting nightlife including various clubs, bars, comedy shows and live theatre, thereby providing a vast variety of post business entertainment and attractions for our business visitors.
Trinidad and Tobago has a diversified tourism product with two very distinct destinations thus offering a unique combination to meeting planners. While Trinidad will welcome the actual meetings, the beautiful and serene sister isle of Tobago can provide the pre and post convention tours always offered to delegates and participants. Tobago has many beautiful beaches and is internationally recognized for its rich and colourful reefs, the oldest protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, Main Ridge Forest, as well as forts and historical sites reminiscent of the island’s history, to name just a few of this islands added attractions .
Whatever your desire, Trinidad and Tobago offers a wide range of fun, leisure, adventure, sightseeing or relaxation.
The Trinidad and Tobago Convention Bureau (TTCB) offers comprehensive information on the island’s venues, hotels, pricing, sites and attractions. It acts as an intermediary between hotels and meetings coordinators or local chapters of international organizations, local business chambers and incoming groups and develops and issues destination bid documents for presentation to overseas meeting planners. The Bureau operates as a liaison and coordinator for hoteliers, tour guides, even consultants and tour operators ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable working environment. |
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