Lord: Tobago hotels almost at capacity for Carnival

Photo: Alpha Lord,  President, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association during an interview with Guardian Media at Mt Irvine Beach. 

Elizabeth Gonzales 

Tobago hoteliers say they are already seeing a highly successful Carnival season, with occupancy rates reaching up to 100 per cent across most properties.
With just a few days remaining before the three-day Tobago October Carnival, which runs from the 25th to 27th, president of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association, Alpha Lord, said this season is shaping up to be one of the best.
The smaller properties are fully booked, medium-sized properties have 85 per cent occupancy, and larger establishments are between 70 and 100 per cent filled.
“By and large the positivity that surrounds the Carnival is real, and the accommodation sector is seeing a bump in business for the month of October, albeit for a few days, we are seeing that business, and we are grateful for it,” Lord said. 
He said that compared to the first two years, this Carnival has generated higher returns.

“We are doing better [compared to last year]. I can’t remember the percentages but I can say for a fact based on the positivity surrounding the weekend and the feedback from the members I think all the members are in a position where the occupancy is greater than that of last year.”
Despite cancellations due to limited seats on the air bridge, he said the overall impact on the tourism sector was minimal.
“The hotels are becoming more and more inclined to the value of the Carnival because they are seeing it grow. I think the third year is going to represent an improvement on the first two years in terms of the successes of the stakeholders and set the pace for the fourth year.”
In 2022, hotels were reportedly 60 per cent full by August. 
Days before the festival’s second installment, in 2023, hotels were reporting between 30 and 95 per cent occupancy. 
Lord is hopeful CAL will be able to meet the future demands of the Carnival, given its positive impact on the island’s economy.
“What CAL (Caribbean Airlines Ltd) doesn’t seem to understand is the timing they put on those flights does not serve the interest of the traveller’s interest. I have a member who indicated a month ago he lost [a group of] 100 for booking for the Carnival period because the group attempting to book at that time—an international group—could not get to and from Tobago.”
Lord hopes there are plans to prevent any possible backlog by accommodating standby passengers hoping to get to Tobago for the Carnival.
He did, however, applaud the Port Authority for meeting the demands. Approximately 17,000 people are expected to arrive via the sea bridge for the Carnival period and for cool down evening in the following days. 

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