Trinidad Tobago Ferry Sources of Trinidad Tobago Ferry resources from the Web

Although Tobago lies to the south of the hurricane belt, it was nevertheless struck by Hurricane Flora on September 30, 1963. The effects of the hurricane were so severe that it changes the face of Tobago's economy. The hurricane laid waste to the plantations of Banana, Coconut and Cocoa, which largely sustained the economy. It also wreaked considerable damage to the largely pristine tropical rainforest that makes up a large proportion of the interior of the northern half of the island. Subsequently, many of the plantations were abandoned and the economy changed direction away from cash crop agriculture towards tourism.

Party politics have generally run along ethnic lines, with Afro-Trinidadians supporting the People's National Movement (PNM) and Indo-Trinidadians supporting various Indian-majority parties, such as the United National Congress (UNC) or its predecessors. Most political parties, however, have sought to broaden their purview.

The country's highest court is the Court of Appeals, whose chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and leader of the opposition. Final appeal on some matters is decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Trinidad and Tobago was chosen by its Caribbean neighbors (CARICOM) to be the headquarters site of a contemplated Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to replace the Privy Council in the fall of 2003

Tourism is concentrated in the southwest of the island, around Crown Point, Store Bay, Pigeon Point and Buccoo Reef. This area has large expanses of sand and is dominated by resort type developments. Tobago also has very many idyllic beaches around its coast line especially those at Castara, Bloody Bay and Englishman's Bay.

Tobago is linked to the world through the airport at Crown Point, and the Scarborough harbour. Domestic flights connect Tobago with Trinidad, and international flights connect with the Caribbean and Europe.

Tobago has a land area of 300 km² (116 mi²), and is approximately 42 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. It is located at latitude 11°N, longitude 60°W, slightly north of Trinidad. The population is 54,084 (2000). The capital of Tobago is Scarborough, with a population of about 17,000. While Trinidad is multiethnic, the population of Tobago is overwhelmingly Afro-Tobagonian, although with a growing proportion of Indo-Trinidadians and Europeans (predominantly Germans and Scandinavians). Between 1990 and 2000 the population of Tobago grew by 11.28%, making it one of the fasting growing areas of the country.