Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 11/Sep 15:33

Tourism secretary: Tobago October carnival budget just under $12m

THE BUDGET for this year’s October carnival is approximately $12 million. THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris revealed the figure on September 10 in an interview with reporters after the launch of Tobago Carnival Unveiled: Mud, Mas, Music, at The Terrace, Comfort Inn & Suites, Scarborough. This year’s carnival, the fourth edition, takes place from October 24-26. Burris said, “The budget for the October carnival this year is estimated at just under $12 million. And that is an increase from last year because last year’s budget was just about $8.5 million.” She attributed the increase to the addition of the Pan Omega, “which is our version of a Tobago Panorama and the prizes to cover that is what accounts for the increase. “But generally, the budget in terms of the infrastructure and all of these things remains the same as last year.” Pan Omega takes place on October 18 but a venue is yet to be confirmed. The THA’s budget for the inaugural edition of the carnival in 2022 was set at $17.5 million but the actual spend was estimated at around $13 million. In 2023, the spend on the event was around $12.6 million. Saying this year’s festival is expected to be bigger and better, Burris said the island’s accommodation sector is virtually filled. “We have no room. That is attributed to the fact that a number of persons already booked way in advance of seats becoming available to the destination and then this week seats dropped on the sea bridge via the Port Authority and they have reported that they have basically sold out for that weekend. So a number of accommodations are reporting 100 per cent occupancy so far. “So we are just waiting on Caribbean Airlines to follow suit. And we do anticipate that there will be a number of properties that will be hovering close to 100 per cent occupancy for that weekend.” She said she is extremely proud of the work that was put in over the years to develop the carnival. “It has essentially said that all the hard work that we put into creating this festival is paying off. We have never really stretched ourselves to mass capacity. We have never had all of the airline seats or all of the sea bridge seats that we would ever want for the kind of demand that we are seeing.” At present, Burris said, there is "a huge diaspora of people" in Toronto, Canada, who just want direct flights to come to Tobago for the carnival. “When you travel, you hear more and more people talking about how authentic and unique October carnival is. And I am simply very proud of the work we have put in over the last two years, the stakeholders, the mas bands, the artistes, the deejays, the people who believed in us from day one. “I really must thank those persons because this festival would not be what it is without their input. And we just looking ahead to a really successful carnival this year. I am very, very excited to see it roll out. I feel like if it is a culmination of a lot of hard work that started in 2022 and we anticipate it will only grow from there.” Burris said she is actually hoping to play mas. “This year, I am hoping to experience it myself as a masquerader. I want to go on the road because everybody talks about how beautiful Tobago’s road experience is. “I don’t just want to sit in the chair and talk about all of the operational things and managing the carnival but I also want to be able to say as a masquerader that we really did create a masquerader’s masquerade.” Tobago Chamber of Industry & Commerce president Curtis Williams said the business sector is ready for the event. But he appealed for more sponsorship. “We still need some more money and definitely, they (THA) will get the sponsorship because it’s going to be a real bumper carnival,” he said. Williams, too, said several of the villa owners have reported that they are fully booked. “There is no room in the villas. So people will have to look for other properties to see if they could get some space. But so far, the carnival is extremely well-patronised.” The post Tourism secretary: Tobago October carnival budget just under $12m appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.