The Village that sells itself
Tobago’s tourism industry has been in the doldrums, but one west coast village is bucking the trend with a lively trade in visitors. What is it doing right? This report by Pat Ganase first appeared in the Contact magazine (September 2018) and is reproduced courtesy the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Castara sells itself as the “real deal” in Tobago: an authentic Caribbean fishing village. But its property owners claim they don’t attend trade shows; they don’t advertise. How is it doing such good business? Is word of mouth so powerful? Is there some other way to reach a global market? If you search booking.com for accommodation in Castara Tobago, you’ll find 15 to 17 properties. SeaScape on Heavenly Bay, The Naturalist Beach Resort, Cottage Mango and Castara Retreats have recent rave reviews. On TripAdvisor, the top-rated accommodations in Castara are Castara Retreats, AliBaba’s Sea Breeze Apartments and Carpe Diem Villa with “seaviews from the bed...