Overview of the Trinidad and Tobago - Case Study Example

Country Analysis: Trinidad Ana Tobago Overview of the country a) . Geography Trinidad and Tobago lie in the Caribbean Islands or Central America, off the Venezuelan coast, with tropical climate; due to proximity to the (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 4). The country has hot weather periods characterized by heavy rainfall in particular seasons. The geography explains the physical properties like mountain ranges, swamps, beaches, and natural forests. b). Demographics Indian and African descent people are main inhabitants, median age of 34 years, with 1.3 million majorly the youth and averagely literate(Equator Marcelle and Ivev 7). Males are more than females with 2 children per woman. Religions include Protestants, Roman Catholics Hindus and Muslims. There is democratic parliamentary governance, with the elected upper house and the appointed lower upper house. . Political ideals are based on ethnicity and nationalism. c). General Economic information Current developments in the economy include extensive investment in tourism as well as efforts by the government to attract foreign direct investment. The economy relies on oil and natural gas exploration. The countries GDP stands at 1.7% showing good per capita income (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 4). Statistics indicates that above 20% of the nationals are living below the poverty line in Trinidad and Tobago, and this translates to 11% in dangers of being undernourished despite the high economic status of the country. 2. Tourism by the numbers (200words) a. Domestic The country’s richness in spectacular tourist attractions is responsible for the high number of the domestic tourists recorded in the recent years. In 2014, for instance, the country recorded 500, 000 domestic tourists with the nationals spending close to $ 117 (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 12). Latest projections predict a projected growth of the domestic tourists to one million. b. International Trinidad and Tobago being rich in niche tourism attracts a large number of international tourists. The country is now close to receiving one million international tourists annually, translating to 2,740 visitors on a daily basis. The figures have increased steadily since 2010 where the whooping 387, 559 visitor numbers marked the beginning for the countrys high projections in 2013 and 2014 respectively (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 23). c. Infrastructure The common hotels include Hotel Normadie, Kapok Hotel, Calipso Beach Resort, Chaconia Hotel among others. Flights to the country are organized by British Airways, Copa Airlines, Continental Airlines and American Airlines while domestic airlines include Aeropostal, Surinam Airways, Insel Air and Copa (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 21). Restaurant services are provided by Table for Two, Salsa Kitchen Tapas Restaurant, Ciao Pizza and Castara Retreats Restaurant. Available tours are organized by Port of Spain Tours, Ghost of Lopinot tours and Scarborough Tours. 3. Tourism Resources and Barriers a). Climate The tropical climate implies that the country is rich in biodiversity, and this explains the existence of niche tourism, especially ecotourism (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 13). The climate means that the region experience both hot and wet conditions. The climatic conditions have been found to be favorable to tourists, and this explains the high number of tourists visiting the Caribbean island. i. Landscape The landscape is characterized by mountain ranges where the famous Main Ridge Mountain dominates the island with swamps and plains separating the ridges (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 27). The mountain ranges slopes towards the coastal line with the conspicuous flat coral limestone forming the offshore coral reefs. The landscape is also responsible for the richness in biodiversity. ii. Natural Disasters The country is vulnerable to the tropical storms, hurricanes and also much threatened by volcanic eruptions (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 7). Forest fires are also comon, therefore, the region is entirely susceptible to natural disasters. The coastal regions are at risks of strong oceanic waves adding to the floods, drought and earthquakes as some of the serious natural disasters. iii. Infrastructure The country has developed excellent infrastructure to serve the oil and natural gas manufacturing sector. Half of the roads are paved characterized by traffic congestions. Port facilities are also available with highly develop cruise shipping. The Port of Spain serves as the international airport connecting Europe and North America (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 23). The country has both domestic and international airlines. b). cultural i. Food There is ethnic attachment to food and where it is typical to find a Creole dish is white rice, stewed chicken, fried plantains, red beans and the homemade ginger beer (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 29). There are Indian, and Chinese foods most have regarded as national foods. Besides, food traditional ceremonies are accorded high value in the society. ii. Language English is the official language though the country is a multilingual region where people speak different forms of standard and nonstandard English while others speak French-based Creole, Bhojpuri, and nonstandard Spanish (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 15). Besides, Yoruba, Arabic, and Urdu are some of the languages used in traditional as well as religious contexts. iii. Pop Culture Music in Trinidad and Tobago is attributed to the Africans who arrived in the island as slaves. Therefore, the pop culture now prevalent in the country is because the Africans brought the drum beating skills to the music (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 25). Carnival music and Steel band are some of the popular musical culture common with the Trinidadians. iv. Religion The country’s religion is evidently unusual because of the mixed races. Therefore, Trinidad and Tobago is home to all kinds of religious beliefs including Christians, Muslims, and Hindus (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 4). Christians are the most dominant with Roman Catholics, Anglican, Pentecostal and the Baptists. In this case, the cultural diversity renders Trinidad and Tobago diverse in terms of religion. c. Political i. Current politics promoting or discouraging tourism Trinidad being a democratic state sets a favorable political environment that promotes tourism. The government, through the ministry of tourism supports initiatives that promote sustainable tourism management and development (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 34). The legislative arm of the government has also put incentives on ensuring that their innovation so as to make the countrys tourism sector have a high value. ii. Terrorism threats/Safety issues Though terrorism is unheard of in Trinidad, the presence of radical Muslims has been a security threat in the making. The military coup of 1990 led by an Islamic group showed how the country could be vulnerable to such threats (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 19). However, everyone is assured of security from the government though the level of violence is quite alarming in the society. iii. Visa issues Visa processing is not a tedious process in the country implying that there limited restriction for the non-nationals to enter the country. Therefore, the country allows individual on vacation especially from the USA to enter without Visas and also has restriction to entry for the Common Wealth countries (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 42). 4. Would you go there why or why not? Given that Trinidad and Tobago is a new focus for niche tourism, I will not hesitate to visit the country. The implication is that the country is rich in natural attraction as well as cultural heritage as evident from the diverse ethnicity. Besides, the country embraces hiking, camping, bird watching and organized tours to the national parks (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 4). Sailing is another reason as to why I will consider visiting the place especially moving from across the islands. On the other hand, cruise ship is another major attraction that can make me visit the country. Also, the reason I will consider visiting Trinidad and Tobago is the presence of unique and pristine tourism facilities. The country is rich in both hotels and restaurants set to international standards. Besides, the island is surrounded by the vast waters of Atlantic Ocean thus one can enjoy the sandy beaches and the coral reefs. Though the country is of a small size, the highly developed infrastructure implies that it is easy to move around the country using various means of transport like shipping and road (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 8). Moreover, the air transport is highly developed in the country thus tourists are spoilt for choice for both domestic and international air transport. Moreover, the oil and natural gas exploration offers the advantage of easy docking on the beaches as the major attractions. Therefore, I will consider visiting Trinidad and Tobago because I have the strong belief that moving around the islands will not be a problem owing to the highly developed infrastructure. The tropical climate is also a welcoming gesture to visit the country as one can enjoy the sun and the cool equatorial weather. The country’s political system also favors and supports tourism activities while the government has put incentives to ensure safety of the tourists (Equator Marcelle and Ivev 9). Besides, there is limited threat from terrorist attacks as such occurrences have never been heard of in Trinidad and Tobago. The diversity in culture is also a factor that makes Trinidad an interesting place to visit where a visitor can enjoy different cultural events from the Red Indians, Africans, and other natives. Work Cited Marcelle, ColinDale and Ivev, Ian. The T&T Foresight Project. Accessed 2015 from NIHERSThttp://www.niherst.gov.tt/resources/publications/tourism-sector-chpt2.pdf Read More