A year on from Tobago’s rebranding, growth has been positive and a host of environmentally conscious initiatives are planned for the next step forward.
Last year saw the Tobago Tourism Agency reveal a new logo and the tagline “Tobago Beyond: unspoilt, untouched, undiscovered”.
In line with goals set out in the tourism industry’s three-year Road Map for Growth, it aims to boost the sector by focusing on the island’s natural assets and relatively untapped appeal.
At the same time as the new identity launched, marketing plans were introduced across the islands’ key source markets.
New destination imagery has been rolled out in Germany, Canada, the UK and Ireland, while a two-month digital and print campaign resulted in more than 70 million impressions and targeted a print circulation of about 3.7 million across national consumer and travel trade publications.
The push seems to be paying off. The destination saw a 14% increase in international arrivals for the first half of 2019.
Arrivals from the UK, Tobago’s largest market, were up 7% throughout 2018, Caribbean visitors doubled within the same period and Canadian arrivals were up by more than 1,500 passengers.
Tobago Tourism Agency says it is also encouraged by the prospects for the German, Scandinavian and US markets as a result of the new focus.
CEO Louis Lewis says: “Tobago’s branding was considered in the International Travel and Tourism Awards, and we have been shortlisted among the top five in the world. We have seen a surge in interest in Tobago, and our arrivals are on the increase.”
He is ambitious for further visitor hikes on the back of the new focus.
“Using December 2018 as our base year, we project a growth of 25% by the end of 2019, 55% by the end of 2020, and 90% over 2018 by 2021.
“For 2020 there will be greater focus on integrating the digital marketing schemes and highlighting the reasons to visit Tobago and our green initiatives.”
