Tobago Cays Marine Park rolls out E-Commerce System

THE Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP), has implemented a Website Based E-commerce system under the tag line “TCMP PAY”.

In a release the TCMP said that park visitors, including cruisers and yacht charter companies will be able to conveniently pay park user fees and mooring fees online via www.tobagocays.org , prior to them arriving at the Marine Park, a protected area in the Southern Grenadines that comprises a number of reef systems.

Park manager, Lesroy Noel said that “TCMP PAY will allow us to streamline the collection of fees at the park, reduce cost of revenue collection and will reduce the transaction time. This will result in increased time for other critical activities including enforcement and maintenance at the park,”.

Noel added that the system not only provides a safe and accountable way to receive money but also offers a distinctive ticketing system and generates customized financial and usage reports.

“It is easy to enforce by park rangers and transactions will monitored at our office on Union Island,” Noel added.

While we are still operating in a COVID-19 environment, TCMP PAY will provide a contactless system which will reduce health risks for both our front line staff and park users, eliminating the spread of viruses through cash transactions, he said further.

Park users can access TCMP PAY via the website www.tobagocays.org. The online transaction is completed through three (3) simple steps after which a credit card payment is made. Payment receipts are sent via email and verification takes place upon arrival at the park.

The TCMP is a member of MPA Connect, a learning network of Marine Protected Area managers and professionals in the Caribbean, and has participated in a number of the peer-to-peer (P2P) activities and learning exchanges that are hosted by MPA Connect. In May 2019, TCMP accountant, Dorette Hooper participated in the peer-to-peer VII Learning Exchange on Sustainable Finance which was conducted in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

During that learning exchange, the TCMP began the process of exploring the use of an electronic fee payment system to enhance the efficiency of the existing on-the-water cash-based collection system currently in place within the MPA. TCMP PAY was rolled out on Wednesday, August 31 following a virtual launch. Cash transactions at the marine park will be accommodated, and will run together with the e-commerce system until its phased out.

The E-commerce system was implemented with support from MPA Connect, Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (GCFI) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The system was designed and hosted by Reef Support LLC.