Trinidad & Tobago seeks more air service from U.S. Wednesday October 16, 6:15 pm ET ATLANTA, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Trinidad and Tobago are taking steps to attract more American visitors, including seeking an increase in the number of flights offered to the region from the United States, officials said on Wednesday. "We have to do a better job of understanding the American travel market," said Brian Harry, president of the Tourism and Industrial Development Co. of Trinidad and Tobago, at a meeting of media and tourism executives in Atlanta. Harry said statistics show that less than 5 percent of flights to the twin-island nation originate in the United States, while 70 percent come from the United Kingdom and Europe. He said few carriers have flights from the United States to the area. Harry said his office was discussing the possibility of U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL - News) offering service to Trinidad from its Atlanta hub. He said he was not concerned that Delta's current cost-cutting could hurt that effort. Delta on Tuesday posted a $330 million third-quarter loss and said it plans more job cuts amid decreased demand for air travel. "We believe carriers like Delta recognize you've got to expand to routes that add significant value" to emerge from an economic slump, Harry said. American Airlines (NYSE:AMR - News) and Caribbean regional carrier BWIA currently offer service to Port of Spain from the U.S. Neil Wilson, Secretary of the Division of Tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly, said one factor that could explain why more Americans don't visit Trinidad and Tobago is that the country requires U.S. citizens to have passports in order to enter. A government study showed that just 13 percent of U.S. citizens have passports, Wilson said. But Wilson said the country's new Parliament was likely to waive that requirement for U.S. travelers very soon. Harry said other moves Trinidad was taking to attract more U.S. visitors included advertising in New York's Times Square, pitching articles to upscale travel magazines and talks with U.S. actor and movie producer Robert Townsend about making a film on the island. _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963