For the first time since 2009, Anguilla’s tourism industry has experienced a 1.7 per cent decline.
This was disclosed by Project Officer in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Nashara Webster, who said the decline was a warning about the situation regarding the island’s main industry.
Ms. Webster stated that, notwithstanding the decline, tourism had contributed 23 per cent in ‘Gross Value Added’ over the past years, but she stressed that there was need for action to stop the decline. She was at the time making her presentation for the Medium Term Economic Strategy for 2010-2014 on Tuesday, March 12.
The Project Officer said that Anguilla, now in its fifth year of tourism decline, fell off the charts in 2008 with a negative growth rate of 0.3 per cent. However, by 2010 and 2011, due to improvements in tourism and fishing, the economy, still in a negative situation, showed some progress.
Ms. Webster reported that in 2012 Gross Value Added stood at EC$547.56 million, but which represented a decline of negative 2.93 per cent. She noted that there was a decline in every sector, especially the important construction industry. She added that the fishing sector grew by half a percentage point.
During the period 2003 -2007, before the actual recession, Anguilla grew by 17.25 per cent.
