Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Randall Mitchell has welcomed the call of Couva North MP Rudranath Indarsingh for the public to get vaccinated, while criticising the opposition's stance on vaccination.
Speaking during the UNC's media briefing on Sunday, Indarsingh urged the public and Carnival stakeholders to do their part in getting the national festival returned by being vaccinated.
In a media release on Monday, Mitchell said while Indarsingh's endorsement of the government's vaccination drive was "tardy," it was appreciated, and said his ministry was involved in the government's vaccination drive through various initiatives.
He said his ministry "has continued for over the last several months to ensure that all participants and stakeholders in the tourism and creative sectors continue to be healthy, maintain safe working spaces in anticipation of welcoming visitors and audiences through the resumption of the tourism, entertainment, and hospitality sectors."
Among these programmes, the Ministry of Tourism together with the Ministry of Health, he said, began several operations aimed at accommodating tourists while observing health protocols.
These included vaccination drives for the tourism and creative arts sectors, developing tourism health protocols with various tourist stakeholder agencies, training these agencies, attaining safety travel stamps from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and continuing discussions with practitioners on plans for recovery.
To date over 2,000 entertainers, promoters, tour operators, tour guides, tourism transport providers, community tourism groups and hotel staff have been immunised.
Mitchell emphasised the importance of tourism and the creative arts as contributors to economic growth and providing income for citizens.
He said his ministry was committed to both sectors and would continue to support the continued operation of these sectors in post-covid Trinidad and Tobago.
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