‘Don’t replace sugar plantation with hotel plantation’ - Caribbean tourism leaders push to reduce industry leakage
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WESTERN BUREAU:
Caribbean tourism leaders are intensifying calls to reduce economic leakage from the sector, with Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez warning that the region “cannot replace sugar plantation with hotel plantation”.
Speaking during the just-concluded Caribbean Travel Marketplace, Fernandez said regional tourism officials and stakeholders were increasingly concerned about the amount of tourism revenue leaving Caribbean economies through imports and foreign ownership structures.
“One of the concerns, or the major concern, was leakage,” Fernandez said, while referencing discussions among regional tourism ministers and delegates at the conference. He noted that many Caribbean countries continue to import the majority of the goods consumed by the tourism industry, contributing to inflationary pressures and limiting the full economic benefits of tourism.
“We actually import our inflation,” Fernandez said, adding that Caribbean governments and tourism stakeholders were now exploring ways to reduce the outflow of tourism earnings from the region.
Fernandez also argued that Caribbean nationals must occupy more senior positions within the tourism sector, insisting that locals are best positioned to sell and represent their countries.
“I say all the time that we can’t replace sugar plantation for a hotel plantation. It’s not going to work,” he declared.
The tourism minister said regional governments and private-sector partners must ensure that Caribbean people are placed “at the top tier of the industry”.
“We need to ensure, and push to see, that we can keep as many of our people at the top,” Fernandez said.
His comments come amid wider regional discussions about improving tourism linkages, increasing local sourcing, and ensuring that tourism growth translates into broader economic benefits for Caribbean citizens.
Fernandez also warned that rising oil prices and global instability were creating added pressure within the tourism industry, particularly as workers demand higher wages to offset rising living costs.
“The employees in the industry are saying, ‘Look, I need a liveable wage, not a minimum wage,’” he said.