There are both health and economic benefits to be gained from focus on Sports Health and Wellness.
SPORTS TOURISM
In the Post COVID-19 recovery strategy, the focus will be on building sport tourism, commercialization of facilities and innovation through technology.
The benefits of Sports Tourism are significant and include:
- Increase in direct revenue
- Foreign exchange generation
- Foreign investment and participation
- Stimulation of economic activity in host communities of the sporting events
- Improvement in the general image of and quality of life in the areas in which these events take place
The PNM will:
- Develop a Sports Tourism Master Plan inclusive of following features:
- Events will be spread across disciplines o Regional competitions
- International competitions
- Invitational meets
- Category tournaments
- Initiate and maintain a Sporting Calendar to eliminate clashes of events and to have a maximum turnout at each event
- Identify and plan for new and upcoming sports that have a high interest and will attract locals, as well as visitors and foreign teams to our shores
COMMERCIALIZATION AND BRANDING
The PNM will:
- Promote the sports brand of Trinidad and Tobago as a sporting destination as well as the home of ‘SPORTAINMENT’ for all tourists, using marketing and promotional space in regional airports and internationally
- Develop Sporting Hubs centralized around our current infrastructure to create comfort, ease of travel and amenities for every district, such as health care faculties and accommodation
- Develop specific imagery that brands Trinidad and Tobago as a sporting venue
- Encourage local Sporting TV stations to cover events that could reach both local and foreign markets as well as the marketing of events via YouTube posts for easy access
- Upgrade stadiums with the required equipment for proper Digital Broadcasting
COMMERCIALIZATION OF FACILITIES
We recognize that there are both health and economic benefits to be gained from the focus on sports, health and wellness and we will leverage our sport asset-base to maximize their commercial value which includes world-class facilities for seven (7) sporting disciplines:
Football, Cycling, Athletics, Netball, Cricket: which includes iconic and historic venues such as the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and the Queen’s Park Oval, Swimming & Field Hockey.
The PNM will:
- Market our world-class facilities on a commercial basis to foreign sporting organizations
- Provide local teams and players easier access to the facilities
- Encourage continuity of events throughout the year
- Encourage every sport to establish and maintain a major e-presence to keep abreast of events, incoming travelers, and players
- Develop one national IT Hub for the use of all sporting organizations in the country
Boosting local tourism, sport and recreation will be aimed at stimulating economic activity and promoting local expenditure:
The PNM will:
- Promote a Staycation Campaign focused on package deals for Trinidad residents visiting Tobago
- Promote a Tobago Homecoming Campaign focused on the Diaspora
- • Manage mass tourism to ensure that these activities do not lead to significant pressures on the natural environment and coastal resources and ecosystem
- Focus on coastal and marine tourism supporting conservation of marine and coastal resources and ecosystems
- Earmark Tobago as a Green Tourism Destination building on its ecological and biodiverse resources
- Re-examine and improve the current fiscal incentives to enhance the investment climate
- Review and improve air travel between Tobago and target markets with a view to increasing access to international tourism markets
- Undertake a strategic upgrading of the tourism product in Tobago, including natural and man-made attraction, room stock and tourism infrastructure
