Former Senior Policy Advisor to the United Nations Development Programme, Dr. Vanus James, says for the first time, countries of the Eastern Caribbean are at a juncture where they are confronted with the challenge of how to diversify their economies away from tourism, in the context of slow growth and falling imports. Dr James says the situation is urgent given very slow growth in large economies such as the United States, Canada and Europe, which are major source markets for the tourism industry as well as buyers of regional exports. Developed countries and traditional allies, are all threatening to close their economies and reduce imports from the region, a factor which he says can “negatively affect the region’s ability to increase exports, which is what is needed in order to raise our rate of growth.” He urges the region to build domestic capability, to create demand in the world for the things it exports.
