Whether you think it is a blessing or a curse, the current world oil crisis presents us with an opportunity to change the service paradigm in Trinidad and Tobago. Street vendors, car park attendants, taxi drivers, police officers, all .. we have an opportunity to secure our future by embracing tourism as our way out of this crisis but the road out will be long and arduous. A recent New York Daily News article encouraged it’s readers to “Choose Trinidad for an eclectic alternative to the typical, laid-back Caribbean vacation”.
That article and several others continue to invite the world to visit us. But what’s next when people actually select Trinidad and Tobago as their destination. Will they be met with empty cubicles at Immigration because some random officer decided that his/her recovery from last night’s fete was more important than turning up for his/her assigned shift. Will the visitor be met by taxi drivers who walk a thin line between inducement and harassment? Will the visitor who chooses to drive be totally confused by our disregard for the traffic laws?
The atmosphere which greets the visitor will be determined by the decisions we make as individuals. As a collective, the time has come for us to take a stand for T&T and that means doing the right thing every time. We can’t change the past but we can create the future by making our individual contribution to improving our country.
Dennise Demming 