TOURISM POTENTIALof

the Northern Range

Presented by: Gail HenryMinistry of Tourism

November 2004

Presentation Format

• Tourism Assets & Cultural Services• Tourism Vision• Tourism Investment• Tourism Potential• Issues• Key Challenges• Tourism Perspectives & Responses• The Way Forward

Tourism Assets

• Mountain range/Forests/Flora/Fauna• Beaches, rivers, waterfalls• Caves• Communities• Offshore islands• Constructed facilities e.g. Hollis Dam

Cultural Services• FOREST LANDS • AMENITY VALUE

– Recreation– Agrotourism– Ecotourism– Cultural heritage– Diversity– Values incl. spiritual &

religious practices, inspiration & aesthetics, cuisine

• EDUCATION (scientific research & teaching

Cultural Services• FRESHWATER • AMENITY VALUE

– Recreation, river limes– Spiritual & religious

practices and values– Aesthetics &

inspiration• EDUCATION

– Scientific research & teaching

Cultural Services• COASTAL • AMENITY VALUE

– Recreation– Beach limes– Spiritual & religious

practices & values– Aesthetics &

inspiration• EDUCATION

– Scientific research & teaching

Tourism Vision• Protected natural area with limited tourism

development• Sustainable tourism practices with

Chaguaramas as a pilot Sustainable Tourism destination (ACS STZC)

• Natural and cultural heritage can be appreciated and enjoyed by all

• Public/private sector cooperation• Stakeholder participation

Niche Markets• Leisure• Ecotourism• Cultural/heritage tourism• Soft adventure• Festivals/events• Future – health and agro tourism

Activities• Drive through• Camping• Hiking• Bird/turtle watching• Hunting• Fishing• Adventure sports e.g. hashing, mountain biking• Mountain retreat e.g. eco-lodge

Sites Targeted for Development

• Chupara Pt. – Integrated resort• Las Cuevas – Coastal resort• Port of Spain – Business/Conference

hotels• North Coast - Marinas

Investment Incentives• For accommodation facilities

including campsites, eco-lodges and guesthouses

• For tourism ancillary facilities including marinas & boatyards, tour operation, recreational space & theme parks, cultural centres

• For tourism infrastructure – public utilities, roads & irrigation, ecological & environmental maintenance

• Environmental Impact Assessments are generally required.

Tourism Potential• Income security through creation of employment

& business opportunities– Accommodation facilities, B&Bs, eco-lodges– Goods & service provision e.g. craft items, agricultural

produce, catering, tour guiding– Staffing Visitor Information Centres– Staging of community events e.g. Parang Festival– Operation of area attractions– Conservation activities

Tourism Potential• Recreational opportunities through

development of activities & events– Festivals (culinary, fish, heritage)– Events e.g. surfing, adventure competitions

Community Tourism• Tourism Action Committees established • HRD/training programmes e.g. tour guiding• Facilities constructed

• Visitor Information/Interpretation Centres e.g. Brasso Seco

• Bathroom facilities at attractions• Picnic, vending & other facilities at attractions

• Technical & limited financial assistance

Issues• Development vs. conservation balance• Zoning• Infrastructure development & accessibility• Tourism impacts – social, economic,

cultural, environmental, political• Level of participation of communities• Planning approaches

Key Challenges• Inadequate level of holistic/integrated

policies/planning to balance/regulate changing demand for competing services in Northern Range– “Public Administration is highly sectoralized

with direct responsibilities that have implications for the Northern Range distributed among many government departments and special agencies.”

Key Challenges• Rapid degradation of Northern Range

ecosystem including tourism assets• Need for appropriate infrastructural

development to match development vision• Lack of approved planning for some

developments & demand-driven NOT policy-driven land-use

• Increasing land prices

Key Challenges• Need to communicate value of Northern

Range• Ensuring that buy-in for tourism

development in communities is voluntary• Controlling unauthorized activities In

Northern Range

TOURISM PERSPECTIVES & RESPONSES

Implementation & Enforcement• Policies and plans not implemented

because:Lack of political willLack of policy & programme continuity &

coordinationLack of strategic direction due to different

views and focus of regularly changing leadership

Inadequate budgetsLack of technical capacity

Implementation & Enforcement• Implementation can be improved through:

– Development of a short and long-term vision and strategy

– Integrated planning & communication mechanisms Vision 2020 Technical Sub-Committees Policy Networking Forum Standing/Steering Committees & Working Groups Stakeholder consultations Sustainable Development Council/Northern Range

Coordination Mechanism

Implementation & Enforcement• Implementation can be improved through:

– An appropriate institutional framework to implement policies and plans

– Institutional capacity building to ensure adequate HR mix & continuous HRD

• More attractive employment terms & conditions to decrease staff turnover

• Relevant HRD programmes (courses, workshops, conferences etc.)

Implementation & Enforcement– Proper planning cycle with timely &

simultaneous policy development & implementation planning

– Seeking alternative sources of funds e.g. donor agencies, user fees etc.

– Phased devolution/co-management of natural resources & assets by communities via local government e.g. cooperation with Reg. Corps & community tourism projects with public/private partnerships

Public Education• National sustainable development

education strategy and action plan– Joint programme– Reinforce importance of our natural

resources/assets– Collaboration between agencies – pooling

funding, technical expertise, one message for maximum impact

Research• Relevant research conducted include:

Planning for Development: A Development Study of Maracas Bay Fishing Village

North & North East Coast Trinidad Carrying Capacity Study (1999)

Shoreline Management Plan for North & North East Coast of Trinidad (2003)

Wastewater Management Strategy for the North & North East Coast of Trinidad (2003)

Recreational Preference Survey (2003)

Research• Continue to develop greater understanding of

issues impacting the Northern Range and other environmentally sensitive areas & how to address them through tourism planning

• Ensure that key issues are addressed by adopting relevant recommendations & best practices

• Better prioritization, collaboration and sharing of results necessary:– Conduct tourism impact & carrying capacity studies

(social, economic, environmental etc.)

Integrated Planning“There is no obvious coordinating mechanism

that generates synergies, or identifies and manages the trade-offs among responses.”

“There is a general lack of follow through on many policy responses”

• Use Vision 2020 National Planning Framework as a driver for integrated planning.

• Use Policy Networking Forum as a mechanism to communicate tourism sector issues and requirements to decision makers in other Government Ministries.

Participatory Planning• Ensure stakeholder views considered.• Encourage more decentralized

involvement in tourism planning & implementation e.g. Regional corporations, Community Councils, community residents.

• Better public/private/non-governmental understanding of roles, responsibilities and need for cooperation in tourism

Physical Planning• Lobby for updated National Physical

Development Plan with designated (sustainable) tourism zones including official national parks and scientific reserves in the Northern Range

• Greater dialogue & collaboration with agencies responsible for physical/land use planning and environmental management including coastal zones.

• Ministry of Tourism is on a CDA Committee that is overseeing the review of development plans for Chaguaramas.

Standards & Guidelines• Development of guidelines e.g. for eco-

lodges, guesthouses• Strive for tourism facilities and attractions

to be environmentally friendly e.g. Blue Flag & Green Globe certification

Human Resource Development• Relevant training for tourism management

agency staff – courses, conferences, workshops etc. – Community tourism– Sustainable tourism– Ecotourism– Coastal recreational tourism– Tourism policy development– Sites and Attractions Management

Human Resource Development• Continue tourism Industry capacity

building programmes including empowering interested communities through training.

• Stronger lobby for tourism as part of primary and secondary school curricula working with regional and local agencies e.g. CTO, Government Ministries

Building Tourism Awareness• Using various media and methods, create

a greater awareness of tourism in general• Encourage domestic tourism to build a

greater appreciation of T&T cultural, heritage, natural and other assets with stakeholder support. e.g. National Tourism Celebrations, Tourism Park 2004

Monitoring & Evaluation• Need an effective system to monitor & evaluate

the impacts of policies, projects etc. should go beyond periodic checks on how funds are being spent. Bodies such as the NRCM can be an external check & balance in this regard.

• Each public sector agency should also have an internal M&E system that should include:Measurable goals/outputsCritical Success factorsMechanism to gauge feedback from target

beneficiariesAdoption of leanings from successes and failures

The Way Forward• Lobby for establishment of NRCM• Lobby for application of an integrated

planning approach through Policy Networking Forum

• Ensure that policies and programmes are developed based on stakeholder participation and with satisfactory consideration of all impacts.

Thank You!