Whirlwind adventure for Germans in Trinidad and Tobago

Kati Piironen and Tobias Deckert are caught in a whirlwind.

Since their arrival in Tobago on December 2, the German nationals have moved at a breakneck pace, from mountain biking and kite surfing to zip lining and standup paddling.

Just hours after arriving on serene and laid-back Tobago aboard a Condor flight from Germany, the duo were mountain biking and kite surfing at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, only to spend the next day zip lining through the rainforest canopy at Trinidad’s Chaguaramas National Park.

This immersion in everything adventurous is part of a promotion in the German market aimed at positioning Trinidad and Tobago as a premier location for the adventurous traveler and increasing European arrivals to the destination.

The promotion, part of a cooperative marketing effort between the Tourism Development Company Limited and Chiemsee – one of the leading sporting apparel brands in Germany – included a week-long, all expenses paid prize trip to the islands. The promotion attracted more than 1.6 million participants with Piironen and Deckert emerging as the eventual winners.

Among the activities planned for Piironen and Deckert, who are scheduled to leave Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, December 9, are rainforest tours, a visit to Argyle Waterfall, surfing lessons at Radical Sports and a taste of the Trinbago lime at the weekly Sunday School parties in the seaside village of Buccoo.

The prize trip is just one of several promotional initiatives that the TDC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Tobago House of Assembly Department of Tourism and Transportation, is undertaking in the lucrative German Market.

In October, representatives from the TDC and its partners took the Trinidad and Tobago Road Show to the German cities of Munich (Germany’s media mecca) and Frankfurt (the country’s travel agent hub) with the objective of increasing brand awareness and the destination’s visibility by utilizing travel trade and media events.

The events, which included destination presentations as well as sampling of local food, rum and music, attracted 53 of Germany’s leading travel agents and tour operators and 20 journalists from various newspapers, lifestyle and travel publications. Participating organizations included Diners Club Magazine, Golftime, Thomas Cook, Primus Tourism and TUI.

Trinidad & Tobago is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .

www.tdc.co.tt