St. George's, February 12, 2009 (GIS): Businessman and parliamentarian Chris De Allie admits that the global economic crisis is having an effect on Grenada, and predicts that it will be a challenging summer for the country. Mr. De Allie, the private sector representative in the Upper House of Parliament, says the impact of the crisis is evidenced in the downturn in tourist arrivals, fewer remittances and less direct foreign investment in the country. The Senator told the Government Information Service (GIS) that hotels are bracing for a difficult summer season. He said that while some hotels still have good occupancy rates, others have very little or none at all. At least one hotel has already reported that its management staff is on rotation, Senator De Allie disclosed. "On the retail and construction sides,'' said Mr. De Allie, "we have seen a significant drop off that will probably be directly associated with the fact that remittance flows have decreased, and the purchasing power of the average Grenadians has also dropped.'' The global economic and financial crisis began late last year in the United States, with the collapse of several banks and hundreds of job losses. Only last week, it was reported that U.S employers purged 598,000 jobs in January. It was the biggest job losses in a single month since 1974. Senator De Allie promised to engage in a national approach to deal with the effects of the crisis on Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. He said the initiative will involve not just private sector officials, but also representatives of government, trade unions and non-governmental organizations. "We believe – from a private sector standpoint – that the parties need to get together and discuss very openly what the situation is going to be and how it is affecting all of us and, as a result, what sacrifices we are willing to put forward,'' Senator De Allie said. The Senator has suggested the need for cutting down on costs instead of firing workers. From: GIS INSIDE GRENADA NEWS