The ECLAC Review N? 104, available on the website of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), includes expert analysis by Bineswaree Bolaki on tourism competitiveness in the Caribbean. She explains why the region’s competitiveness in tourism (the Caribbean’s main economic activity) is falling. She comments that more local integration is necessary, to move away from models of sun and sand that have attracted the most foreign investment, as reported in Listin Diario.
She concludes that the situation could be improved through policy measures conducive to increased investment, private-sector development, enhanced infrastructure, reduced government taxation, more flexible labor markets, decreased vulnerability to natural disasters, greater human development and gradual rises in oil prices. She also sees investing in technology, developing of aviation policies to reduce fares and increased air access as priority issues. The creation and promotion of the “Caribbean brand” as a tourist destination would be highly useful to improve regional competitiveness, she concludes.
The Spanish version of the article is at www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/xml/4/44074/RVE104Bolaky.pdf