11/10/2026
Persons wishing to visit 'Little Tobago' in the future may need to pay for a permit, as reported by Tobago Channel 5.
"Under the proposed pricing, foreign adults will pay $70, whilst local adults will pay $40. For children aged 13 and under, the cost will be $35 for foreign visitors and $20 for local children."
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Visitors and commercial operators will soon be required to pay user fees and obtain permits to access Little Tobago, following a public consultation hosted by the Tobago Reforestation and Watershed Rehabilitation Programme at Speyside Secondary School on Monday evening.
Little Tobago, officially declared a bird sanctuary, has been designated a prohibited site under the Forests Act since 1999 to protect migratory bird species, including red-footed and brown bo***es, frigatebirds, and red-billed tropicbirds. The Programme is now in the final stage of establishing an access management framework.
Under the proposed pricing, foreign adults will pay $70, whilst local adults will pay $40. For children aged 13 and under, the cost will be $35 for foreign visitors and $20 for local children.
Programme Chairman Sean McCoon noted that permits will also be mandatory for tour operators, reef boats, and leisure craft, issued monthly across high and low seasons. In the high season running from 1st November to 30th April, tour operators will pay TT$670 monthly.
'Tour guides $500, registered reef boat operators, you would pay $585 monthly,' Mr McCoon stated, noting that rates will decrease during the low season between 1st May and 30th October.
Explaining the enforcement process, Mr McCoon said: 'So if you come to the island and you do not have a band on, and we don’t recognise you, you can’t go beyond a certain point. That will be expanded in due course, and with the permit structure, you will be completely prohibited from landing on the island without that permit.'
Addressing the differentiated pricing between residents and tourists, Mr McCoon explained: 'Yes, that was raised at the last consultation, which is why we broke it between foreigners and locals. For locals, we don’t want to punish or discourage our people from having the benefit and enjoyment of the island.'
The wider framework includes mandatory training for operators and guides, a published register of permitted operators, research exemptions, and site amenity upgrades.
