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The Buccoo Reef fast ferry. FILE PHOTO - THA Minority Leader Kelvon Morris is calling on Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to increase its daily flights for the upcoming Tobago carnival scheduled for October 24 to 26.
Morris made the call during a media conference on October 15 at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, Lowlands.
He said he has been in contact with CAL’s management who has informed him that no new flights have been or will be added.
“I’m calling on the Chief Secretary, if he requires us to go down to meet with CAL on this matter, this is a serious matter, let us go down together and get CAL to act on behalf of the people of Tobago, TT, and this product that we are trying to develop which is the Tobago carnival.”
He said there is an “appetite” for the annual event, which is in its fourth year, as people want to come to Tobago. According to reports, hotels, villas and guesthouses are registering over 90 per cent bookings for the carnival. However, hoteliers say they are concerned that visitors, mostly from Trinidad, may be unable to get to the island to complete their bookings.
In the interim, The Port Authority has added additional roundtrips on the TT Spirit between the islands on October 22. This sailing is expected to depart Trinidad at 8.30 am, while departing Tobago at 2 pm.
The authority said sailings are available from Tobago on October 22-26 with additional availability on October 29, while sailings from Trinidad are available from October 25-29 as four of the inter-island vessels will operate outside the regular schedule to move passengers to and from the island.
In September, president of the Tobago October Carnival Association (TOCO) Dexter Sandy said he was hopeful that additional means of transportation on both the airbridge and seabridge would be realised in time for the event.
At that time, Sandy made an appeal to the Assembly for assistance, noting that one of the things that the bandleaders will hold the Assembly accountable for is support in getting more masqueraders to the island.
“As the policyholders, executive team, we’re really asking for you all to negotiate on our behalf. You all are the ones who get to the table with Caribbean Airlines, you all get to the table with the TT Inter-Island Ferry, you all also get to the table with honourable Minister of Transport, the line minister and the Minister of Finance. We are asking of you to ensure that you put a plug in there so that we do get some additional airlift.”
Tobago Carnival official events:
October 17 - Monarchs of Mas
October 18 - Pan Omega
October 22 - Tobago Soca Titans
October 23 - Calypso Monarch Competition
October 23 - Rox GLO
October 25 - Tobago Dutty J’ouvert
October 25 - Steelpan and Powder
October 25 - Night Mas
October 26 - Traditional Mas
October 26 - Parade of Bands
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