There are, for instance, many chartered flights and also cruise ships that visit Trinidad so that their passengers may see the annual two-day Carnival, the high point of the tourist season in Trinidad.

Tourists must have a place to stay, and so the hotel industry and related guesthouse business continue to expand to accommodate the increasing flow of passengers to the islands. The governments themselves become hotelkeepers. In Barbados and Trinidad, as well as elsewhere, the government either owns or has a controlling interest in hotels.

Until recently the tourist dollar has not been sought as vigorously in Trinidad as in some of the other islands, particularly Barbados. Since Trinidad is favored with being a principal oil producer in the Commonwealth and so reaps a rich revenue from petroleum products and also has other substantial industries, she has not been inclined to woo tourists. Yet today tourism is the third-largest source of foreign currency.

Just let a rumor of trouble or revolution start and Mr. Tourist makes a speedy exit.

This happened in Trinidad and Tobago in April 1970. There were violent demonstrations and an effort to bring down the government. Foreigners were insulted and assaulted. In Tobago the hotels and resorts were invaded and guests mistreated. In a few days those hotels were almost deserted. Visitors to Trinidad fell off at least one fourth. It was months before the flow of visitors became normal once more. Hotel construction came to a stop, or nearly so, for a time. Construction on the new waterfront Holiday Inn ceased in Port of Spain, and only in September 1971 was it resumed.

The first time the writer visited a beach in Trinidad many years ago he went home barefoot. He left his shoes in a vulnerable place, and they were promptly appropriated. These are the things that those who sell tourism try to avoid, with some measure of success.

Future Prospects

Problems and hazards notwithstanding, the promoters of tourism are optimistic over the future of the industry and are vigorously pressing ahead with plans for expansion. Just recently the Hotel Hilton in Trinidad completed a large addition of 181 rooms.