BARBADOS must guard against the leakage of foreign exchange.
This is the view of managing director of Antilles Economics Stacia Howard as she opened discussion at the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association’s first quarterly general meeting at the Hilton Barbados Resort this morning.
The topic under discussion was Improving Economic Performance Through Enhanced Tourism Competitiveness.
Howard also said there must be a way to offset some of those activities that demand the exportation of foreign exchange to be addressed locally.
She said most of the leakage occurred via payment of goods, but stimulation of the local manufacturing and agricultural sectors to produce craft and food, for example, would offset this.
President of the Bankers Association Donna Wellington told the gathering the bank provided the link between those who generated foreign exchange and those who use it, and was therefore critical to its circulation.
Wellington said the bank was not always sensitive to the needs of business people in the tourism sector, but struggling was not a weakness. She urged business people to come into the bank to seek advice and financial guidance when they face difficulty. (JS)
