Common tourism policy for OECS coming soon

A Common Tourism Policy for Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Member States will be established on October 1, 2011.

Programme Officer at the OECS Secretariat Dr. Lorraine Nicholas says OECS Member States are “pretty close” towards unveiling their first Common Tourism Policy.

“The Consultants are refining the Policy document to reflect decisions taken at the workshop. We expect to disseminate the revised Policy to officials in our Member States. The Member States have requested a deadline of September 14 for submission of their final comments; and we expect to have a final Common Tourism Policy document by October 1,” she said.

The focus on tourism development within the OECS Economic Union and how it further enhances the life of the sector’s thousands of employees as well as the region’s economies was high on the agenda of OECS Member States at the recent meeting of private and public sector tourism stakeholders.

The OECS Secretariat said the recent meeting in Antigua and Barbuda was a success as tourism professionals from the private and public sector in the OECS and other stakeholders agreed on the key areas to be addressed in the OECS Tourism Policy.

The meeting identified the operationalization of the OECS’ single yachting space as a top priority. Other key areas include: Harmonization of customs and immigration procedures, including the universal implementation of eSeaClear throughout OECS; improvement in air access to the region; standardization of human resource development initiatives across the region; transportation; and enhancement of tourism awareness throughout the region to provide empirical evidence of the economic impact of tourism.

Improved research and statistics as well as attracting greater investment to the region were also flagged as major policy measures

Source: Caribbean360