Tourism Minister Carlos James said it could take nearly two years for St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ tourism sector to recover from the devastating damage caused by Hurricane Beryl on July 1.
“Experts suggest it will take at least 23 months before we see a full recovery and strong economic activity following a natural disaster like this,” James said after the government successfully tabled a EC$136 million (US$0.37) supplementary budget.
He said the Southern Grenadines, the island hardest hit by Hurricane Beryl, relies heavily on tourism and that apart from housing repairs, for which the government has allocated EC$22 million, “the most important thing the government can do is inject resources directly into small and medium-sized enterprises, which are at the heart of sustainable livelihoods.”
The Minister added that the financial support package included $8 million in income support for tourism workers, with a further EC$500,000 allocated to a Youth Micro Enterprise Promotion Programme exclusively for Grenadine residents.
He said the EC$1.5 million would also be used to rehabilitate tourist sites across the country.
James said two Barbados-based technical experts from the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) had completed a rapid assessment of the Grenadines’ tourism sector.
“And that rapid assessment report will then guide decisions as a ministry and as all stakeholders within the industry on how we proceed with further assessment.”
He said that starting this week he would be “sending almost all of our Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Bureau staff to the Southern Grenadines islands of Mayreau, Union Island, Canouan and Bequia to interview tourism stakeholders and collect data.”
He said transportation issues had temporarily halted the plans.
“We look forward to facilitating alternative transport arrangements and being able to be on the ground to assist those involved and tourism sector workers,” James said, adding: “We need to ensure we have the resources to be on the ground and assist those involved.”
He spoke about the need to implement a tourism disaster management framework in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the United Nations.
“This is a policy initiative that focuses on the immediate response after a natural disaster occurs, on preparation and response first,” James said.
He said the government would also look at a sustainable livelihoods framework in tourism and would focus on promoting and integrating disaster management approaches within the tourism sector.
“These are two important policy initiatives and we see them as part of our recovery in building resilience. There are a number of guiding policies from the UN disaster risk reduction measures that we can implement from what we are building here.”
The Tourism Minister said that apart from housing reconstruction, the Government considers it essential to focus on the tourism industry and tourism-related businesses in the Southern Grenadines.
“If the majority of islanders depend on it for their livelihoods, we need to put resources into supporting them, supporting their recovery, helping them get back on their feet,” James said.
