TOBAGO hoteliers are said to be disappointed with the performance of the island’s accommodation sector during the four-day Easter weekend.

Newsday learnt many of the hotels were full to between 40 and 50 per cent capacity.

This was in stark contrast to last year, when the hotel and guesthouse sector was near maximum capacity, after being virtually decimated by the covid19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

“At Easter, we are normally 80 and 90 per cent booked,” one hotelier said. “But this was not the case this year, and many business people are disappointed.”

Former Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association (THAT) president Rene Seepersadsingh said he had heard from some in the sector that their establishments did not reach the usual levels for Easter.

But he said, “I don’t think there was a similar complaint in the villa sector. The villa sector seems to have done well. I have been hearing from the hoteliers in particular that it was not as good this time around.”

Asked why he believes the hotels were not filled, Seepersadsingh said it could be attributed to lingering fears about covid19.

“I think coming out of the pandemic, people are still looking at that (villa) market. People are still conscious about staying in hotels, the (numbers) of people gathering with their family and friends.”

Seepersadsingh said the availability of flights could have been another factor.

“The perennial challenge for hoteliers is the transportation between the two islands. So mechanisms need to be streamlined to make it more efficient.”

He suggested that Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and the THA address the matter post-haste.

“I understand CAL’s point of view, because there are only so many seats you have. But people are complaining that they can’t really plan their vacation properly because of the unavailability of seats. So something has to be done.”

Many people also seemed to have travelled to other Caribbean islands for Easter, Seepersadsingh said.

“Remember, last year was still more or less pandemic time, and people from Trinidad and Tobago still were not really travelling abroad

“So this year, now that everything is open, people opted to try other islands, because a lot of people who normally come to Tobago went to other islands. It doesn’t mean that they don’t like Tobago, but they just wanted something different I guess.”

New THTA president Alpha Lorde could not be reached for comment, as calls to his cellphone went unanswered.

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