As Tobago Carnival sets the stage for a new level of festival tourism, the alignment with the island's
only truly local communications solution provider, bmobile, is a natural one. Carded as a liberating festival of cultural expressions, the island will officially produce its unique interpretation of the 'greatest show on Earth' in the last weekend of October 2022.

Lisa Agard, CEO of TSTT, strongly believes in the possibilities for the Tobago Carnival brand. "As one of the most committed corporate partners in the Trinbagonian Carnival brand, bmobile truly believes there is room for differentiation of the core Carnival product. Tobago Carnival has offered a revitalised approach to reach new markets in the festival tourism space while also keeping many aspects of the culture that have made it a success in Trinidad. We are proud to continue our strong partnership to greater development in Tobago and continue to be fully committed to the work of the THA and supporting local culture." Agard noted that bmobile recently supported The Tobago Heritage Festival and its Emancipation Celebration in August 2022.

Meisha Trim, Chairman of the Tobago October Carnival Planning Committee, recalled that the idea was explored many times at various levels, but it is an idea whose time had come. "Tobago benefits economically more from the cool-down activities after Trinidad Carnival than it does from Carnival itself. Coming out of the pandemic, the island's creative sector needed greater stimulus and we decided to focus on the Carnival product we are known for as a country - but with a fresh, new approach to it."
The Tobago Carnival festival chose October as it is more conducive to attracting international tourism traffic and serves as both the opening and closing of the annual Carnival calendar for the twin-island Republic. Many elements of Carnival will be present, but Trim notes there are innovations and interpretations that, when paired with the island's beauty, should attract new interest from the diaspora and unique visitors alike.

"There are events that are core to the Tobago Carnival products and ones that we have aligned to support,” Trim further details. “The TUCO Tobago Lime All Inclusive at Tropikist Hotel is one such alignment that will offer fête-goers the familiarity of the fête but with a greater focus on calypso instead of soca music. We also will have the traditional street parade but with one version at night called RoxGlo - appropriately named as it takes place with glow elements in the old capital of Roxborough. The other will go along a new route taking masqueraders to the Atlantic coast for a refreshing sea breeze in the midst of the revelry."

The Organising Committee believes that the attraction of participating in Carnival in a more island-like environment, as the parade route skirts the Atlantic coast, would also appeal to Trinidadians looking for an alternative to the routes that traditionally take place in city centres on the larger island. "At all levels, we have looked for ways that we can leverage what we have here and spin it in our unique Tobagonian way," Trim adds.

With its mix of traditional mud mas, J’ouvert, fêtes and pretty mas, and its innovations being implemented in the island's naturally beautiful environment, the plan is to scale Tobago Carnival to reach new visitors and, in so doing, create new interest in new tourism markets.

For more information, visit welcometobago.com.