Dear Editor:

You recently published a letter that I sent to government officials concerning the lack of participation of Caribbean-owned companies doing business with the English-speaking Caribbean Tourism industry. Needless to say, I have been surprised by the response, most of which has been positive. I suspect that I have made some tourism ministers a little uneasy. However, it was not my intent to point fingers or assign blame. My purpose is to start an honest dialogue among government officials, tourism ministers and the Caribbean public in general about how we move forward in creating dynamic Caribbean economies.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization is holding a workshop on opportunities In tourism for Caribbeans in the Diaspora on June 11 in New York. They should be applauded for taking such a proactive step. At that meeting I would hope that they consider the following:

1. Organizing a conference between successful Caribbean companies and high-level government officials to discuss why Caribbean-owned businesses are not participating in the tourist industry.

2. Codify into law that any contract awarded must have significant Caribbean participation.  For example, state that where possible, 50 % of the contract must be shared with a Caribbean-run company.

3. Caribbean governments should ensure that Caribbean companies are significant partners in any future tourist contracts

In just 40 short years, China has emerged from a peasant society into the most dynamic economy in the world by insisting on technology transfers with any companies doing business in their country. If you want to build a plant in China, you must commit to train and use Chinese workers. As a result, China has been able to create the greatest economic transformation in the history of the world. Caribbean governments should look at that model. No country or region can hope to flourish if it outsources its greatest economic resources to outsiders.

 I am prepared to donate my resources to any serious effort to address this issue. But given that Caribbean governments are the ones that award tourist contracts, the governments need only commit to doing the right thing.