Saint Lucia Records Positive Economic Growth
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Saint Lucia Records Positive Economic Growth |
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Contact: Shannon Lebourne
Wednesday, February 09, 2011 – The Government of Saint Lucia says it is very encouraged by recent figures which indicate that Saint Lucia was the only country in the nine member OECS grouping to register positive economic growth in 2010. The figures shows that the country`s economy grew by .7 percent.
Saint Lucia`s Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Honourable Allan Chastanet who is also an economist by profession says although last year`s economic growth figures are well short of what is needed to reduce the country`s debt to GDP ratio it is commendable in the context of global economic stagnation.
“In order for Saint Lucia to reduce its debt to GDP ratio we need to grow more substantially, infact the Central Bank has indicated that on a regular basis the economy needs to grow in the pace of about five or six percent annually so in the context of that the recent growth is still not where we would like to be but relative to what the global economic environment is which every country has had to face I think Prime Minister Honourable Stephenson King needs to be commended for the work that he has been doing”.
Minister Chastanet says with Saint Lucia`s lead economic earner- Tourism - registering a ten percent growth in arrivals last year and a thirty three percent increase in revenue, he is very encouraged by the economic prospects of the country.
The Tourism Industry contributes an estimated twenty five million weekly which represents sixty four percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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