Sustainable Tourism in Trinidad and Tobago

“Sweet, sweet T&T! Oh! how I love up dis country. Sweet, sweet T&T! No place in dis world I’d rather be.” In the words of the world renown calypsonian, David Rudder, Trinidad and Tobago is the best place to be, in the world. To us ‘trinis’ this statement speaks no more than the truth, but the challenge becomes to convince those abroad as well. Trinidad and Tobago has always been largely self sufficient in terms of its economic wealth, due to their rich deposits of oil and natural gas. Although this has not changed, the recent financial problems plaguing the world have demanded that the government pay special interest in developing the area of tourism. According to the online encyclopedia, sustainable tourism can be defined as ‘tourism development that avoids damage to the environment, economy and cultures of the locations where it takes place,’ and its aim is to ensure that this development is a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and tourists themselves. But how can sustainable tourism be achieved? In this multicultural island, the tourism industry has varying levels of fluctuation. Data taken from the government website (www.tourism.gov.tt), indicates that between the years 2000 and 2009, the number of visitors arriving to Trinidad and Tobago have stayed between 350,000 and 500,000 which in itself, shows little or no improvement or development taking place in this industry. However, as particular interest has been placed on its expansion and sustainability, there are certain aspects in which the placement of major emphasis can lead to sustainable tourism and in the long run, national development as well. Firstly, there are some obvious issues that need to be immediately attended to within the physical aspect of it, which are basically, the environment and the infrastructure. As a member of the Caribbean region, tourists associate Trinidad and Tobago with the picturesque scenery and the simplistic, aesthetics beauty