00:00Preliminary reports indicate over 34,000 passengers traveled on the airbridge as Caribbean Airlines increased capacity between March 27th and
00:11April 12th, 2026 to meet heightened passenger demand for the Easter peak travel period.
00:18Tourism Secretary Zorisha Hackett told TV6 News approximately 20,000 passengers used the Seabridge.
00:26Listen to me, Liz. We couldn't ask for anything better for the Easter weekend. Everywhere I go, everyone is commending
00:32the fact that this has to be one of our biggest Easter celebrations post-COVID.
00:36You know, I mean, we're here in beautiful Boko for the Goat and Crab Race festivals. And trust me, I've
00:41never seen Boko fill up this early, you know.
00:44So right now I'm here to report preliminary and some preliminary updates. I know we've had 42 sailings from the
00:51first and we're going to go all the way to the ninth with those figures.
00:53And we expect that a 20,000 persons would have utilized the fast ferries.
00:58Secretary Hackett spoke to the media during the 98th annual Boko Goat and Crab Race festival in Tobago.
01:06We've had full flights from last Thursday and we've even had standby lists exceeding 100 on each of these days.
01:15Caribbean Airlines is going to give us the exact data by tomorrow.
01:18And by the end of the week, we're going to provide a comprehensive report coming out of the division on
01:23what it means in terms of the domestic tourism trust that we've had and the arrivals we've had even beyond
01:28Trinidad.
01:30Ms. Hackett said collaboration with central government and the specialist marketing of Tobago has contributed to the bumper Easter figures.
01:40We've also had really good collaboration with central government, I must admit, and I think that collaboration has been doing
01:47wonders.
01:48I think having these direct conversations with minister with responsibility for civilian aviation, for instance, and minister with responsibility for
01:56Cal.
01:56And of course, the types of conversations our chief secretary has been having directly with prime minister and having her
02:02understand and government understand the importance of tourism to Tobago.
02:06I mean, it's so obvious, but this support and the collaboration we've been getting from central government has a lot
02:12to do with it as well.
02:13Hackett said Tobago is at no point to speak of any removal of the subsidy on the airbridge, but instead
02:21focus should be paid on the bailout of Caribbean Airlines.
02:25Because so many of our islanders travel next door for school, for medical care, et cetera, we value the subsidized
02:33rate.
02:33And so I think that the Tobago's have assembled in collaboration with central government will do all that is possible
02:39to ensure that whenever a decision is made in that bailout,
02:42it does not affect the pockets of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
02:46Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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