May30-2016-Situational Analysis SLU Services Sector (Final)
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The Development of a Gender-Responsive and Results-Based Services Sector Policy, Strategy and Action Plan For Saint Lucia Saint Lucia – GRANT NO. GA 29/STL SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE SERVICES SECTOR IN SAINT LUCIA Ramesh Chaitoo Consultant May 30, 2016 Report prepared for the Saint Lucia Coalition of Services Industries (SLCSI) and the Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs. This project was funded by the CART Fund through the Caribbean Development Bank TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE i 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Project Objective and Purpose ...........................................................................................................1 1.2 Methodology for this Project ..............................................................................................................2 2. BACKGROUND AND GENERAL OBSERVATIONS 3 2.1 Services Trade and Growth ................................................................................................................3 2.2 The Rationale for a Services Thrust ..................................................................................................4 2.3 The Saint Lucian Economic Context .................................................................................................6 2.4 The Policy Environment in Saint Lucia ............................................................................................7 3. SERVICES IN THE SAINT LUCIAN ECONOMY 9 3.1 Services Contribution to Employment ..............................................................................................9 3.2 Services Contribution to GDP ..........................................................................................................11 3.3 Services and International Trade .....................................................................................................11 4. HORIZONTAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 4.1 General Strengths of Saint Lucia .....................................................................................................14 4.2 Profile of Services Firms in Saint Lucia ..........................................................................................14 4.3 Education/Skills and Gender in Saint Lucia ...................................................................................15 4.4 Employment Issues ............................................................................................................................18 4.5 Incentives for Investment in Service Industries ..............................................................................19 4.6 Promotion Agencies for Service Industries .....................................................................................21 4.7 Best Practices from Other Regions ..................................................................................................23 4.8 Main Conclusions regarding Policy and Regulatory Issues ..........................................................25 4.8 Final considerations........................................................................................................................... 31 4.9 Cross-cutting or Horizontal Recommendations .............................................................................32 5. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) 34 5.1 Overview of the ICT Sector ..............................................................................................................34 5.2 Issues to be addressed in the ICT Sector .........................................................................................36 5.3 Regulatory infrastructure .................................................................................................................38 5.4 Recommendations ..............................................................................................................................39 6. SPA/WELLNESS SERVICES 41 6.1 Overview of the International Market .............................................................................................41 6.2 The Spa/Wellness Sector in Saint Lucia ..........................................................................................42 6.3 Marketing Issues ................................................................................................................................45 6.4 Recommendations ..............................................................................................................................45 7. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES 47 7.1 Overview of the sector in Saint Lucia ..............................................................................................47 7.2 Recommendations ..............................................................................................................................57 8. CREATIVE INDUSTRIES 61 8.1 The Global Context ...........................................................................................................................61 8.2 Why Invest in Creative Industries? .................................................................................................63 8.3 Policy/Regulatory Shortcomings ......................................................................................................67 8.4 Funding of creative economy initiatives ..........................................................................................68 8.5 Development of an Animation Industry ..........................................................................................69 8.6 Recommendations ..............................................................................................................................71 9. TERTIARY EDUCATION 73 9.1 The Global Market for Higher Education....................................................................................... 73 9.2 .........................................................................................The Tertiary Education Sector in St Lucia 74 9.3 The Regulatory Environment ...........................................................................................................76 9.4 ..................................................................................................................................Recommendations 79 10. HEALTH/MEDICAL TOURISM 80 10.1 The International Market .................................................................................................................80 10.2 ...........................................................................................................Medical Services in Saint Lucia 81 10.3 ........................................................................................................Medical Tourism and Saint Lucia 83 10.4 .............................................................................................Key Issues Relating to Medical Tourism 84 10.5 Considerations for Saint Lucia .........................................................................................................85 10.6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................87 10.7 Recommendations ..............................................................................................................................88 REFERENCES 90 Annex I - Issues Discussed in Sectoral Focus Group Meetings 94 Annex II – List of Persons Consulted 97 Annex III – Information and Community Technology Sector Strategy & Action Plan 99 Annex IV – Spa and Wellness Sector Strategy & Action Plan 100 Annex V - Professional Services Sector Strategy & Action Plan 101 Annex VI - Creative Industries Strategy & Action Plan 102 List of Abbreviations APESL Association of Professional Engineers of St. Lucia Inc. BOP Balance of payments CARICOM Caribbean Community CARCIP Caribbean Regional Communication Infrastructure Program CARIFORUM Caribbean Forum (CARICOM states and the Dominican Republic) CACET Caribbean Accreditation Council for Engineering and Technology CCEO Caribbean Council of Engineering Organizations CICMC Caribbean Institute of Certified Management Consultants CMC Certified management consultant COHSOD Conference on Health and Social Development CSME CARICOM Single Market and Economy CSWA Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association ECCB Eastern Caribbean Central Bank EGRIP Electronic Government for Regional Integration BPO Business process outsourcing EBOPS Extended balance of payments system GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GDP Gross Domestic Product GOSL Government of Saint Lucia HIPCAR Harmonisation of ICT Policies, Legislation and Regulatory Procedures H&WT Health and wellness tourism ICT Information and communication technology IT Information technology ITES Information technology-enabled services Kb/s Kilobits per second Mb/s Megabits per second MCBDICA Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs MEHRDL Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and Labour MEAITCA Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation MFEA Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs MHWHSG Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations MRA Mutual recognition agreement OECS Organization of Eastern Caribbean States OPM Office of the Prime Minister PACE Professionals in Action for Creative Enterprise PPP Public-private partnership SLASPA Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority SLCSI Saint Lucia Coalition of Services Industries SLHTA Saint Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association