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The discussion was centered on a strategy to advance Belizean products and services through the tourism industry while involving more women and youth in that process. The Ambassador of the OAS, Starret Green further discussed the objectives of today's consultation.

Starret Green, Ambassador - OAS
"One of the issues that we are trying to understand better is what works and what doesn't work in linking the markets. We know we have a huge tourism industry. We have much larger number of tourists coming in and why is it that we are not able to put more products into the hands of those tourists that are coming here, so we have many different issues that we need to get to the bottom of and to do that, the best way is to ask those who are actually involved in the tourism side of things and those who are actually doing the purchasing."

Jean Lowry, IICA Representative
"I think there are number a challenges that both agriculture and tourism face. One of them that I discovered just recently is that the right people in both sectors are not talking. There is no communication. Who is doing what? Who wants what? Who will be willing to buy what? And so, that's an indication that the linkages that exists between both sectors are not being utilized."

Starret Green, Ambassador - OAS
"When you start looking at the agriculture sector in general, a large percentage of the people involved in it are men, so we are very supportive of what they are doing. But, I believe that when you come to the agro-processing sector and into the tourism sector, that there is very many opportunities for youth and for women and I think those sectors, we need to better understand how they can actually get themselves into those areas."

This is the preliminary stage and further conferences will be organized.