The Tobago Tourism Agency (TTAL) is preparing the island for increased tourism activity and the eventual opening of Trinidad and Tobago’s borders, through product development initiatives focused on collaboration, health, and safety.

While the onset of COVID-19 ground travel to a halt to the island in mid-March, the island’s tourism authorities grasped the opportunity to prioritise the developmental needs of the travel and tourism industry that was hit hard by the pandemic. In addition to the ongoing dissemination of a Tourism Accommodation Relief Grant totalling TTD 50 million (USD 7.4 million), the TTAL conducted an online consultation series with the island’s tourism stakeholders from mid-June to July 09, 2020 to develop a COVID-19 Tourism Health and Safety Manual.

The manual will provide Tobago’s tourism industry with the most adequate measures that can be implemented to reinforce destination safety and underline the trust of tourists, workers and residents.

Narendra Ramgulam, director of product development and destination management at TTAL said: “The purpose of our manual is really to work together with our industry stakeholders to develop actionable and harmonised processes and procedures that are in line with global and local public health instructions.”

Hotels, restaurants, and other businesses within the industry have already responded to the pandemic with stepped-up cleaning and sanitation, staff training, and innovative changes to their business models and infrastructure to allow for social distancing and customer safety.