ttgapers.com

There was a three percent increase in visitor arrivals for Carnival this year. According to statistics from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) released yesterday by TIDCO, there were 45,492 visitors in Trinidad and Tobago this season, the highest in the last eight years.

A comparison of statistics for visitor arrivals for Carnival from 1997 to this year showed that arrival figures have fluctuated with some 27,414 persons coming to Trinidad and Tobago in 1997. The figure rose the following year by 30.10 percent with 35,665 visitors, but in 1999 there was a drop by 758 when the CSO recorded 34,907 visitors.

For the millennium celebrations from February 17 to March 6, 2000, 42,646 visitors came to enjoy Carnival. However, the trend of fluctuating arrivals continued, when in 2001 there were 35,221 visitors. There was another decline in arrivals in 2002, when 33,487 visitors arrived. Visitor arrivals in Trinidad and Tobago for 2003 increased by 15.08 percent to 38,537 visitors. However, this year surpassed the last eight years with a record 45,492 visitors. Last weekend, Tourism Minister Howard Chin Lee expressed optimism that visitor arrivals would continue to increase since Government had plans in place to boost the tourism industry.