The economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the indelible mark it has left on the Caribbean tourism industry is said to do little to interfere with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) prediction that the region will record some growth. This year.
A week ago Newsamericas’ Caribbean Business News Roundup quoted the Director of the Western Hemisphere Division Alejandro Werner, saying that the Caribbean is expected to record growth of about 2.1% this year, although the Fund’s chief officer added that the region is best advised “To look long term at economic diversification.” Werner reportedly made a point of amazement at the extent to which the tourism-dependent economies in the region can “provide more of the inputs to the local tourism services sector, rather than import from abroad. ” This observation by an IMF officer has a particular influence on the ongoing but seemingly sterile discourse here in the region of what is thought to be about the current US $ 5 billion US food import bill , largely as a result of the need for the various tourist islands to provide high-priced extra-regional cooking options for visitors. Werner’s concern also extends the importance of strengthening the region’s telecommunications infrastructure to provide a “very strong competitive base.”