Trade Watch V9 No3 2015

EXPORT SUCCESS

Transforming Carnival into a Sustainable Business

When we think about exporting Caribbean goods, images of pepper sauces, jams, rum and tea often come to mind and many of us neglect to consider spectacular costumes, masquerade bands, and pulsating music as viable products for export. Commonly known as “the greatest show on earth”, carnival is central to the psyche of the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Dating back to the 18th century, Trinidad Carnival is now one of the most popular of all the festivals, bringing scores of visitors from all over the world to partake in its explosion of colour, music, food, revelry, creativity and splendor. Trinidad and Tobago’s Mas Transformation Secretariat (MTS) was formed in 1995 to implement various projects of the National Carnival Development Foundation (NCDF) that would convert an array of aspects of Carnival into a viable and sustainable industry for the twin-island state. MTS conducts activities such as workshops on band management, provides mechanizations for the mass production of Carnival costumes for local and foreign markets, and provides collation and simplification of intellectual property legislation for Mas practitioners. In 2014 with the assistance of the 10th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme Direct Assistance Gran Scheme, MTS conducted a Mas Trade and Tourism Mission to Europe. A delegation of 10 MTS and Mas Practitioner personnel visited Paris and Rotterdam to meet with representatives of European Mas entrepreneurs, consultants, festival organizers and government officials. Whilst there they were able to raise the awareness around the Trinidad and Tobago’s tourism brand. During the exchange European Mas Entrepreneurs responsible for Rotterdam Zomercarnaval, Paris Tropical Carnival, and other European festivals expressed a desire to elevate the levels of their festivals by improving their product offering and their profile to increase participation from both visitors and locals. In fact, the Paris organizers particularly declared a desire to see its carnival rival that the UK’s Nottinghill Carnival which is the largest carnival in Europe. This opens the opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago Mas Practitioners to export their expertise and services to these European counterparts assisting with the development of their carnivals. Thus far, a number of contracts have actually been signed and another seven are on the cards, currently under negotiation. Improving European carnivals will have a knock on effect. It will strengthen carnivals appeal in an important source market supporting the overall Caribbean brand. The opportunity of taking the Trinidad and Tobago Mas product on the road in Europe, participating at the European festivals and also their Carnival Tour Programme was extended and quickly taken up. Trinidad and Tobago Mas took part in Zomercarnanal 2014 and arranged for Machal Montano, world-renowned soca artist, to perform at the After-Parade Concert. This brought the creative talents of Trinidad and Tobago straight to the attention of the

European Mas Entrepreneurs with the intention of creating the demand for local “Works of Mas”, to establish business relationships with festival organizers both in Rotterdam and throughout Europe, and by extension increase demand for the Trinidad and Tobago cultural brand within Europe. In addition, in light of the Carnival Tour Programme presents further opportunities for Mas Practitioners to provide ground services to support the scores of European Masqueraders that tour multiple countries throughout the year to play Mas. To facilitate Mas Practitioners, MTS later created a Mas Export Manual that will guide them on how to export “Works of Mas” to Europe and in May of this year, the European Mas Trade and Tourism Mission to Trinidad and Tobago took place where fifteen senior European carnival officials from thirteen European countries visited Trinidad & Tobago to meet with Mas Practitioners. They openly expressed keen interest in costume purchases, acquiring skilled labour and management expertise, training workshops for their Carnival Bands, and arranging Carnival/ Cultural exchanges. The mission also included the launch of a carnival costume exhibit and the unveiling of the Global Online Portal for buying and selling “all things Mas”. Undeniably Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival has a world renowned reputation and there is a growing demand for the country’s consistent and large scale involvement in European festivals. The Mas Trade and Tourism Missions helped to challenge the mentality that Mas is more culture than business. It confirmed that Europe is open for business in the Creative Industry, and that the country’s Mas products are highly sought after for export and have immense potential to forge sustainable livelihoods for artisans. (TW)

8 Tradewatch • The Official E-Newsletter of the Caribbean Export Development Agency • Vol.9 No. 3, 2015