Trinidad & Tobago Anticipates Increase in Tourism Arrivals for 2012, Looks to Build Upon 'Project Runaway' Winner

As part of our coverage of the 30th annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace, Travel Agent attended a Trinidad and Tobago luncheon and learned of the destination's plans to boost tourism arrivals by 4.6 percent in 2012.

Sandra Perkins, CEO of the Trinidad and Tobago Tourism Development Company, told attendees that the destination will be placing a heavy emphasis on fashion since one of its locals, Anya Ayoung-Chee, recently won the last "Project Runway" television competition.

"The plan is to have her help promote tourism to the destination and also promote fashion in the destination," she says.

In 2010, the destination saw roughly 380,000 arrivals, which was about the same figure reported for 2011.

"We remained flat in 2011, but we think we are looking at about a 4.6 percent increase in 2012," she says, "and that has a lot to do with our updated hotel product and the fact that we had one of our own win 'Project Runway.'"

Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more updates from our ongoing coverage of the 30th annual Caribbean Travel Marketplace.