MARKET STUDY

7.16 A 2005 Trinidad & Tobago Tourism & Travel study performed by World Travel & Tourism Council, on behalf of the Tourism Development Company Limited, projected that growth in Trinidad & Tobago's Travel & Tourism Demand should average 6.03 per cent per annum to 2015, comfortably exceeding expected worldwide growth of 4.6 per cent per annum as well as the 3.4 per cent annual average growth forecast for the Caribbean.

7.17 In addition, the study found that the “majority of non-VFR (visits to friend and relatives) arrivals in Trinidad are business travellers. The importance of the energy sector and ever-growing manufacturing and financial services means that international business visitors are on the increase. However, current occupancy rates are high and it is apparent that hotel stock, particularly at the higher end of the market, is vastly inadequate to cope with demand.”