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As Trinidad and Tobago continues to feel the impact of lower energy receipts, the tourism sector is emerging as a strategic development priority. Elected in September 2015, the government of Keith Rowley is placing a renewed emphasis on economic diversification to help the TT$175.99bn ($27.1bn) economy weather the downturn in the global energy market. Tourism, along with agriculture and manufacturing, has been identified as strategic in that quest. Despite the recessionary environment, T&T saw an upsurge in visitor arrivals – which increased by 6.6% in 2015 to reach 439,749 visitors – highlighting the sector’s resilience. The US accounted for 39% of international arrivals, followed by Canada (13%), the UK (9%), Scandinavia (2%), Ger¬many, Austria and Switzerland (2%), India (1%), the Caribbean (18%) and the rest of the world (16%). To accelerate growth a number of efforts are under way to raise the profile of key tourist sites, improve service standards and develop human capital. This chapter features an interview with Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Tourism.

As the largest exporter in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago’s transport network is vital to the performance of its economy. The country is already a fast-growing air passenger and cargo hub in the southern Caribbean and is now looking to spur growth in the maritime sector, where it intends to take advantage of its sheltered location below the hurricane belt and its proximity to shipping lanes serving North, Central and South America. The transport sector has not, however, been immune to the ramifications of the country’s current economic downturn. According to the Central Bank of T&T, the country’s GDP contracted by 2.1% in 2015 on the back of lower oil and gas prices. With public revenues significantly reduced as a result, the government was forced to abandon plans for a multi-billion-dollar mass transit project and to announce the phasing out of the long-standing subsidization of super gasoline and diesel. This chapter contains an interview with Ashley Taylor, President, Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation (PLIPDECO).

In the past decade the Trinidad and Tobago telecoms and broadcasting industry has expanded into a dynamic sector of the economy. The Telecommunications (Amendment) Act of 2004 acted as a catalyst for the industry, with all segments of communications and entertainment liberalized simultaneously on the principle of fair competition. At present, T&T has four fixed-line and two mobile telephony companies, seven international incoming and out¬going phone companies and eight internet service providers. In addition, there are 13 subscription television companies, seven free-to-air TV channels and 38 radio stations. Though increasing numbers of Trinidadians are connected to the internet, greater uptake of ICT solutions is required from both the private and public sectors for the economy to take full advantage of the benefits of connectivity. T&T has so far been slow to develop local software businesses and train the human talent needed to support ICT. Nevertheless, the sector remains a key focus of attempts to diversify the economy. This chapter contains an interview with Cynthia Reddock-Downes, Acting CEO, Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT).

The Trinidad and Tobago real estate market’s fortunes have long been tied to those of the oil sector. Between 1991 and 2006 house prices more than quadrupled as the country’s hydrocarbons and petrochemicals industries grew strongly. This stoked a construction boom that led to the rapid development of grade-A office and residential properties. Following the 2008 financial crisis, prices dropped by 20% but recovered strongly up to 2014, with residential properties reaching 8.7% year-on-year growth by the third quarter of 2014. Falling oil prices have since led to a slowing economy and the oversupply of grade-A residential and office space has depressed rents and valuations. Meanwhile, affordable housing projects have seen cost overruns and industrial estate projects have been slow to get off the ground. Even so, in the Ministry of Finance’s “Review of the Economy 2015” the construction sector was forecast to have a strong 2015, growing 3.4% and accounting for 5.3% of GDP.

In his October 2015 budget speech, newly appointed finance minister Colm Imbert underscored the fact that Trinidad and Tobago’s manufacturing sector had fallen below 10% of national GDP. Estimates from the Central Statistical Office put the figure at 8.1% in 2015, with food, beverages and tobacco accounting for around 4.5% of GDP. Despite having the largest manufacturing base of any CARICOM country, the government focus on energy and relative neglect of manufacturing, as well as a shortage of unskilled labor, has held back the sector in recent decades. Nonetheless, T&T holds many comparative advantages that have yet to be fully exploited. It has a handful of globally recognized industries, a strong food and beverage segment, and a strategic geographical position for the maritime industry. The coming two years will see a renewed focus on diversifying the economy away from hydrocarbons, providing alternative pillars of growth during times of low oil prices. This chapter contains interviews with Arthur Lok Jack, Executive Chairman, Associated Brands, and Racquel Moses, President, InvesTT.

For the past four decades the energy sector has been the backbone of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy. On average, the industry’s contribution to national GDP has been around 40%, although this has ranged from a high of 50.8% in 2008 to a low of 32.1% in 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2015 GDP was down 3% year-on-year, reflecting a 5% contraction in the energy sector. In addition to lower prices, the sector was affected by dwindling output from mature oil fields and plant shutdowns for maintenance and infrastructure work. Results in the downstream sector were more mixed. LNG output fell in the second half of 2015, although refinery output increased after the completion of upgrades at the state-owned Petrotrin plant, and ammonia and urea production was up from a relatively low base in 2014. This chapter contains interviews with Andrew Jupiter, Chairman, Petrotrin; Norman Christie, Regional President, BP Trinidad and Tobago; and Gerry Brooks, Chairman, National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC).