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| Friday, 07 September 2012 |
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| TDT TEACHES AGENTS HOW TO SELL TOBAGO LOVE | ||||||||||||||
| Seminar focuses on island’s romantic attractions in order to boost awareness and promote it as a wedding and honeymoon destination | ||||||||||||||
| Jovana Arnaut | ||||||||||||||
If you closed your eyes at last night’s Tobago wedding seminar, and just listened to the live pannist performer, you might have felt as if you were on the island. The Tobago Department of Tourism hosted a Romance in Tobago seminar at Toronto’s Novotel hotel for select travel agents and media representatives. To replicate the ambiance of the island, a pannist performer played the steeldrums, the room was decorated with posters and pamphlets of Tobago, and the exhibitors - Alitours, Caribbean Airlines, Total Vacations and Big Five Tours and Expeditions - set up booths and featured their Tobago products. Afiya Holder, director of romance, Tobago Department of Tourism, and presenter at last night’s seminar, gave an overview of the island’s geography, cuisine, weather, attractions and accommodations. But, the main focus was on weddings and honeymoons.
“Being the director of romance, I’m pushing the weddings and honeymoons niche because the Canadian market is not aware of Tobago in that aspect. They see it more as an eco-destination, but there’s a lot to offer for wedding couples, honeymooners and people who want to renew their vows.” Reggie Kieda, general manager, Aviareps, agreed and said that the event was about promoting Tobago as a wedding and honeymoon destination. “Tobago has kind of been out of the agents minds for awhile, there has been no promotions and what we want to do is start getting agents, when they’re planning a wedding or honeymoon, to start thinking of Tobago,” she said. “We also want to promote our Wedding Symposium. We would like to have many agents come down to Tobago to experience first-hand the hotels, the service and the wedding planners that we have.” The Tobago Truly Romantic Wedding and Honeymoon Symposium/FAM trip will be held from Nov. 27 to 29, 2012. Agents are responsible for their own airfare to Tobago, but will be covered for four-nights accommodation, transfers, tours and all the meetings. However, if agents book 20 people for a wedding in Tobago between November 2012 and November 2013, they will get a refund for their Symposium airline ticket. “Tobago encapsulates destination romance and that’s what we’re trying to promote,” Holder said. “I think one of the big things that separates us from the other Caribbean islands is the natural landscape. It’s very unspoiled, laid back, more or less the gem of the Caribbean. It’s the real Caribbean. The true Caribbean.”
According to Holder, Tobago’s natural landscape provides beautiful backdrops for weddings and it is known for its unspoilt ambiance. The types of weddings offered on the island include; beach weddings, traditional church weddings, garden weddings, underwater weddings, traditional ‘Ole Time' weddings, and ethnic weddings. Holder also discussed the four P’s of Tobago: People – who exude warmth, hospitality and friendliness; Place - that offers beautiful, unspoilt landscapes, beaches and bays; Privacy – featuring quaint and uncrowded areas; Priceless – for example, a romantic dinner for two or a horseback ride on the beach costs under $100 per couple. The seminar also outlined the marriage regulations which state that: if both parties are non-residents of Trinidad & Tobago, they must reside in the country for three days before getting married; if divorced, an original or notarized copy of decree absolute is needed; if widowed, original death certificate of spouse is needed; both parties must have valid proof of identity; persons under 18 must have documented consent from a parent or legal guardian; and couples must obtain a marriage licence, it costs US$55 payable in cash, at the Inland Revenue Department in Scarborough. For full information on marriage regulations visit, visittobago.gov.tt. A Symposium grand prize was given away to Robert Boyadjian, president, Sevan Travel Agency, which includes roundtrip airfare from Toronto to Tobago, four-nights hotel accommodation, transfers, meals and symposium events.
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