Dr Marlene Attzs - Economist
Every year, as the streets of Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Arima, Arouca, Tunapuna, and Scarborough, among many others, explode with music, movement, and colour, a familiar debate resurfaces: With declining government revenues, is Carnival worth the cost that the Government incurs annually? Many question whether large subventions for Carnival are justified, especially when public services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure are underfunded. But to reduce Carnival to just dollars and cents is to fundamentally misunderstand its true economic and social impact.
Bunji Garlin’s song Heart of the People (2021), released during the COVID-19 pandemic when the festival was cancelled, reminds us Carnival is more than just a street party. As Garlin (Ian Alvarez) lyrically noted, “You so caught up with enjoyment, that you don’t see the level of employment, that coulda’ save life when yuh think this thing woulda’ destroy them … Carnival is a sea that deep …” Carnival is a driver of employment, community, culture, and national pride. It is an industry that creates jobs across sectors, strengthens communities through panyards and mas camps, empowers small businesses and entrepreneurs, and positions T&T globally through its potential contribution to the Orange Economy.
The Orange Economy refers to industries based on creativity, culture, and intellectual property, including music, art, fashion, film, design, and digital content. Globally, it is a trillion-dollar industry that generates jobs, innovation, and foreign exchange by monetising cultural assets and creative talent.
Global examples include India’s Bollywood, the US’ Hollywood, and Jamaica’s Reggae and Music. In my view, if T&T delays in identifying and capturing the full socio-economic value of Carnival, we risk missing out on one of our nation’s greatest economic assets.
Carnival: The power of community
Few national festivals in the world bring people together like Carnival does in T&T. Our panyards, for instance, are more than just music or rehearsal spaces. Panyards can be safe havens for young people, a place for mentorship and discipline, and a hub of creativity, community, and pride. When a community steelband makes it to Panorama finals, it elevates the entire neighbourhood.
The panyard is where young musicians find purpose, structure, and escape from crime and idleness. And yet, when Carnival spending is questioned, the social value of these spaces is often ignored. Additionally, for every partygoer ‘wining’ in a fete or on the streets, there are hundreds of workers behind the scenes making it possible. Carnival is not just revelry—it is a socio-economic engine.
Carnival: An economic lifeline for some small businesses
The Carnival economy is not just about big sponsors and major corporations. It sustains food vendors selling from doubles and corn soup to high-end catering at all-inclusives; taxi and maxi drivers transporting hundreds nightly; event photographers and videographers capturing moments; costume designers and seamstresses keeping mas alive; hairdressers, make-up artists, nail technicians and personal stylists, ensuring revellers look their best.
For many, Carnival is their biggest earning period of the year. Carnival stimulates spending, helps families meet financial obligations, and ensures economic activity in otherwise slow periods. For a lot of “small businesses,” Carnival is survival.
Carnival a global industry: The Power of the Orange Economy
One of the biggest misconceptions about Carnival is that it is just a local event. But the truth is our Carnival exports culture globally. Many of our soca artistes and steelbands tour the world; some local DJs have built successful global brands around T&T’s soca and fete culture; T&T-born costume designers now create for global carnivals.
These are not just entertainers—they are entrepreneurs who can potentially contribute to the national economy. Unlike many other industries in T&T, these creatives are net earners of foreign exchange. Carnival is already a global business, but we have failed to embrace it as such.
Tapping into the Orange Economy: Unlocking Carnival’s true potential
The Orange Economy is estimated globally to be worth over $2.25 trillion US dollars. T&T has the talent and the reputation to own a piece of this industry—but only if we start treating it as a serious economic pillar. A starting point would be to invest beyond subventions; instead of just funding events, we should be investing in creative infrastructure, artist development, and digital content creation. There also is the opportunity to support artistes as entrepreneurs—offer tax incentives, grants, and business training for creatives; position Carnival as an export industry, so artistes can earn foreign exchange, pay taxes, and build long-term careers.
If we treat Carnival as an economic asset, it can provide the country with partial financial support beyond oil and gas as the country builds a sustainable creative economy.
Carnival should not be an expense but an investment
For too long, we have narrowly framed Carnival as a cost rather than an opportunity. Carnival is potentially a social stabiliser, keeping youth engaged and communities connected; Carnival drives small business growth, sustaining many jobs; Carnival is a global industry, positioning T&T as the cultural heartbeat of an international movement—think of all the regional and international carnivals that have spawned off of T&T’s “Greatest show on earth”; Carnival is a gateway to the Orange Economy, an untapped trillion-dollar industry.
If we embrace its full potential, we can build a sustainable economy that thrives on our creativity. Carnival is not the problem–our narrow vision and failure to invest in it properly is.
