|
TDC hosts international media for Carnival
As part of its push to promote the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival abroad, the Tourism Development Company Ltd hosted 21 journalists from various parts of the globe during the just-concluded festival, ensuring that they both witness and experience the excitement of the celebration.
The journalists, from North America, Europe and Asia, attended fetes – including the biggest of them all, the International Soca Monarch competition – and joined masqueraders during Jouvert on Carnival Monday and the Parade of the Bands on Carnival Tuesday.
Former beauty queen and fashion designer Anya Ayoung Chee, who gained fame for winning the last season of Project Runway, welcomed six of the journalists into the section she designed for Tribe’s 2012 presentation, “Take Me To ...”
“We are claiming Trinidad and Tobago as ‘the cultural capital of the Caribbean’ and certainly Trinidad’s Carnival is a major differentiator for us to stand out among Caribbean destinations as we actively pursue the festivals tourism niche,“ said TDC CEO Sandra Perkins during a welcome ceremony for the journalists at the National Carnival Commission’s VIP booth in the Queen’s Park Savannah on Carnival Saturday, Feb. 18.
TDC Chairman Rajiv O.M. Shandilya encouraged the media visitors to discover other aspects of “the incredibly diverse destination of Trinidad and Tobago.”
“From the world’s largest asphalt lake to the hemisphere’s oldest protected rainforest reserve; we have it all right here,” he said.
The media Carnival tour, said Shandilya, is only one of many means the TDC is using to encourage visitors to these shores.
“In addition to the marketing and promotions, the TDC is providing ongoing service training for all levels of hospitality industry personnel, which is showing tangible results in the form of an enhanced visitor experience,” he said.
The TDC is also employing the services of national icons, like Ayoung Chee, “to further enhance our country’s positioning as a leading Caribbean destination,” he said.
The TDC’s strategy of hosting international media has reaped rewards, with Trinidad and Tobago Carnival being featured in high-profile publications like The Smithsonian Magazine, Huffington Post, the Miami Herald and Caribbean Travel and Life.
|
Media Center
