Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 21/Aug 07:55

Tobago – sports tourism hub

ALTHOUGH known for its pristine beaches and white sand, Tobago is keen on also becoming a sports tourism hub, which has stakeholders excited and in support of the vision. The disclosure was made against the backdrop of the recently concluded Døds Diving World Championships in Charlotteville, hosted by the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). On August 10, THA Chief Secretary and the electoral representative for Charlotteville/ Speyside/ L’Anse Fourmi Farley Augustine, speaking with Newsday, said the island will be diving into more untraditional tourism ventures following the success of the event. The event, which originated in Norway, was held in Tobago for the first time, and according to reports, the island is scheduled to host the next two editions as well. Business Day made several attempts to contact THA Secretary of Community Development, Youth Development and Sport Wane Clarke for more information, however all calls went unanswered. Assistant Secretary of Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Transportation Niall George said while he was unable to speak in the direction of sport as it would fall under Clarke's purview, he remains wowed by the idea of sport tourism as highlighted by the hosting of the recent event. “Indeed, the tournament was an overwhelming success because we aren’t only looking at the viewership and participation locally, but we are looking at the coverage and marketing that we have received due to the tournament," he said. "It’s still being streamed in Norway and Scandanavian countries. "ESPN has shown interest in showing all of the Døds events that have taken place, so even though the event has passed, its still going to give us the positive marketing going forward." Speaking with Business Day on August 18, Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (E-IDCOT) sport tourism advisor George Leacock, the man behind bringing the championship to Tobago, said he was satisfied with the event as he provided an update. "The people from Døds have to travel 42 hours back to Norway and they have started sending us returns, however, the returns will not be completed by this weekend. "They are already in the hundreds of thousands of television views, but they will have the full results thereafter." [caption id="attachment_1127024" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The "I Love Tobago" sign at the Scarborough Esplanade. - Photo by Visual Styles[/caption] The Døds Diving World Championships attracted thousands of supporters to witness foreign and local participants showcase their personality and freestyle skills while diving off a special 40-foot platform installed on the Charlotteville jetty. The event, Leacock said, has already been covered on the front pages of several international newspapers and an official roundup video will be posted to social media. The edited video, he said, has already been shown on Norwegian television and will be shown in France next week and ESPN in next three weeks’ time. "The final viewership tabulation is not available as yet. Any after-action reviews that we do will start when we have that information. All of the local entities have been written to and have been asked to submit their subsector reviews by the end of this week – people like the coastguard, fire, police, TEMA." The diving championships has now added a new calendar event to welcome the crowds who lined the beach front and climbed into pirogues to watch top athletes put on their best free diving performances. Death diving or dodsing was born in Norway in 1960 but emerged as a novel sport in the early 2000s. [caption id="attachment_1173374" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Patrons take up vantage points on boats to enjoy the action at the Døds Diving World Championships in Charlotteville on August 9. -[/caption] Tobago hosted the 57th edition of the TT Great Race on August 16 where hundreds of spectators gathered at Store Bay for the finish with people on the sand, boats and jet skis witnessing the speed of the competing vessels. It was a party atmosphere following the event with music and sunny weather adding to the spectacle. President of the Powerboat Association Stefan Lewis supports the idea of the island being a hub for sports tourism. [caption id="attachment_1173376" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Heatwave cuts through the water during the TT Great Race on August 16. Heatwave was the first boat to Tobago.- Photo by Ronald Daniel[/caption] "I think it’s a very good idea if we want to bring both islands into the centre of it. Being the island filled with a rich history of sporting then, definitely, we should start with Tobago because a lot is happening there." Lewis said apart from the recent Døds diving, the annual great race is run into Tobago from Trinidad and is the longest running offshore racing in the world. "With that, I think we should get more support, more of the government involvement when it comes to capturing sports in Tobago." The recent race, he said was "definitely a success," though he pointed to some challenges, noting that "nothing good comes without challenges." "Great race this year was definitely one of the greater ones to ever lived – with having a lot of records being broken which is exciting, very, very exciting and we’re still in the discussion of confirming if these records were broken. We also had a lot of boats listed to run the actual Great Race, unfortunately a lot of them did not make it into Tobago, however a lot of them did and that as well carried a lot of excitement for the shores of Store Bay. Apart from the races, the excitement that Tobago and Tobagonians brought to the event, it was nothing short of amazing." Lewis said as one of the onlookers, the aim was to make the weekend full of excitement. "That was our plan, our plan was to get everyone in Tobago involved – we didn’t want to just make it a Trinidadians in Tobago thing. We wanted to make it a Tobago Great Race." 'Sport tourism the way to go' President of the Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THTA), Reginald MacLean said he is in support of the island being a sporting hub. "I am for sport tourism; it’s the best way for us to go. We can have a different sporting event every single weekend." He has even bigger expectations for Døds next year. [caption id="attachment_1129947" align="alignnone" width="1024"] People wait to board glass-bottom boats at Store Bay ahead of a tour to the Buccoo Reef.- Photo by Visual Styles[/caption] "It’s a very big benefit to Tobago and next year is going to be way bigger. This year it was not properly advertised so what you’re going to find next year with proper advertising is double the amount of people. All the vendors, everybody is going to benefit. All the guesthouses, the bed and breakfast, the villas, the hotels – everybody will benefit. "You’ll have a lot of Trinidadians coming up that would take part, then you’ll have a lot more Tobagonians taking part as well. So it’s going to be a win-win." Speaking to Business Day, Charlotteville Village Council head Dexter Hackett commended the Døds organising committee for its foresight. "The event was really good – I am really proud of the strides made. If we put ourselves in a gear for tourism, it could work. "We can handle it once we put things in place, once we have it properly programmed, it could take place. We have to give the customers what they’re spending their monies for." Hackett, however, called for more collaboration between the council and the THA. "We had no communication before, during or after the event. This thing come direct like it had already planned – they had organised already, so they just come and tell us what they were doing. I mean anything for the upliftment of Charlotteville, we accept." In the meantime, he said though he is yet to speak personally with the vendors and proprietors from the event, he walked around during the event and observed the activities. "I was pleased. It was beneficial for everybody who was selling and doing business. "Everything went smooth, no hiccups as far as I know." One vendor, only identifying himself as Murphy, said he was impressed by the turnout. "The crowd turnout was outside of my imagination; I really didn’t expect that kind of turnout for the first year. [caption id="attachment_1107465" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A small business owner at her clothing stall at the Store Bay Beach Facility. - Photo by Visual Styles[/caption] "Once it’s promoted more, we in for something really good. "It was short notice for us in the village, so we really didn’t have time to prepare but outside of that, everything went well – it was nice." One resident, identifying himself as Moore said he too was pleased. "Is the first time I see it up close and personal, I’ve seen it previously on TV and so on already. "On that day, Charlotteville was in a mess with people – this is the second big event in Charlotteville for the year and it really came off good for the first time." [caption id="attachment_1173373" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Charlotteville jetty. -[/caption] While Steve Solomon, also known as Iron from Charlotteville, endorsed the event 100 per cent. "It’s good to generate money for the island on a whole – not only for Charlotteville but for Tobago because people coming from all over." Solomon said he worked with the sanitation crew for the event. "For this, the first time, it bring people from all over the world. I don’t know who planned it but the person who chose the venue as Charlotteville, it was the best. Everything was perfect." Sporting enthusiast Marcus Daniel in supporting the move, noted that sports tourism is a major boost to the economy. "The benefits spread across hotels, food vendors, rentals and more. "It gives Tobago free advertising and provides exposure for our athletes." Daniel said Tobago has hosted several major events in the past like beach soccer, rugby 7s, regional cricket, and international fishing. However, some of these events are no longer held on the island. The popular Rainbow Cup triathlon event is unlikely to be held next year and the Tobago International Cycling Classic is also in jeopardy owing to sponsorship concerns. Daniel said, "It’s time for leaders to invest again in these kinds of events to build a strong tourism product. "Bring the experts together, get the private sector on board, and let’s position Tobago as the sport tourism hub of this region."   The post Tobago – sports tourism hub appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.