Saint Lucia Backs a Caribbean Push to Keep Tourist Dollars Local

Saint Lucia is among the destinations behind a Caribbean Tourism Organization initiative, launched during Caribbean Week in New York, that aims to put local suppliers — farmers, craft producers, food makers, transport providers and tourism workers — closer to the centre of the visitor economy. The goal is to keep more of each tourist’s spending inside the region rather than leaking out through imports.

For the diaspora, this speaks to a long-standing question: how to make tourism translate into more local jobs and stronger small businesses at home. The practical value will show up in supplier contracts and farm-to-hotel links, not in the launch itself. Anyone supporting a small enterprise back home may find new openings to plug into hotel and visitor supply chains as the programme rolls out.

Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization; Travel And Tour World.