Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean must urgently diversify their economies to reduce reliance on tourism, Kerrie Symmonds, the senior minister coordinating the productive sector and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, warned on Wednesday.He highlighted the vulnerabilities of the region’s economic dependence on travel and tourism, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as he addressed the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) second Council of Leaders meeting.“The need for diversification is real and pressing,” Symmonds said.He also called for a re-examination of the 16-year-old economic partnership agreement with European countries to overcome several trade barriers to Caribbean service providers.The minister pointed to the severe economic slump caused by the pandemic, which resulted in almost all CARICOM member states experiencing double-digit GDP declines. Barbados, he noted, was among the hardest-hit countries due to its reliance on international travel.