Barbados’ vital tourism industry should pick up in the final quarter of this year with construction playing an important supporting role for the economy.
This was part of Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell’s outlook that also included an overall 0.5 per cent contraction of the economy for the year.
“It is anticipated that foreign exchange inflows for the remainder of the year will be sufficient to fund most imports, and foreign exchange reserve cover is expected to end the year close to the current level,” the Governor noted.
The economist said Government would continue to focus on supporting the tourism sector’s competitiveness and diversification as well as overall fiscal consolidation.
At the same time, Worrell warned that “recovery in the international economy is driven mainly by the performances of emerging market countries such as China, India and Brazil, and growth in the countries where Barbados sells its tourism and international business and financial services remains weak and uncertain”.
As a result, the Central Bank boss cautioned “even though Barbados enjoys a strong competitive position in both these markets, it is advisable to be cautious going forward, and to conserve foreign exchange reserves by maintaining a tight regime of fiscal consolidation”.
He said this action would “keep the economy stable and reassure investors at home and abroad”. (GE)
