Eli Fuller responds to open invitation by PM Browne

Eli Fuller Accepts PM’s Invitation to Join Point FM Discussion on Local Ownership in Tourism

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — Tourism stakeholder Eli Fuller has accepted Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s public invitation to join him on Point FM this Saturday for a discussion on expanding local ownership and better integrating Antigua and Barbuda’s cultural assets into the tourism product.

The prime minister issued the open invitation earlier this week, inviting Fuller and others to discuss “strategies and programs to expand ownership and better integrate our cultural assets into our tourism product.”

In a response posted online, Fuller said he “eagerly accepted almost immediately,” adding that he hopes the discussion will clearly explain long-standing structural challenges facing locals in the tourism sector.

“Local people are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to investment in many sectors of tourism,” Fuller wrote, arguing that “it is easier for foreigners to invest in tourism and start tourism related businesses than it is for our own citizens.”

Fuller said the issue is not new, noting that he raised similar concerns years ago during a tourism conference with former opposition leader Harold Lovell. While welcoming the prime minister’s engagement on the matter, he cautioned that discussion must lead to concrete outcomes.

“I’m very excited that Gaston Browne is talking the talk but I’ve heard other ministers talk that talk before. We need more than talk,” Fuller said.

He added that he hopes the radio discussion will allow experienced tourism professionals to share practical insights with the public. “Information that many excursion operators and lifelong tourism professionals like myself have can be shared to give people a better understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist in tourism,” he said.

The upcoming programme is expected to focus on access to capital, policy barriers, and opportunities to strengthen local participation across the tourism value chain, a sector that remains central to Antigua and Barbuda’s economy.

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