jobs and business opportunities for enterprises, and encourages the development of infrastructure. in 2014, tourism generated approximately us $ 1. 4 trillion in global foreign exchange income, approximately 30 % of the export of services. according to the world travel and tourism council, tourism contributed 9 % of global gdp and global employment. tourism has risen significantly in recent years and the world trade organization ( wto ) expects this trend to continue, reaching 1. 8 billion tourists by the end of 2030. as one of the world ’ s fastest growing industries, tourism has brought about more diversification and competition among destinations. also, due to innovation and continuous technological developments, tourists have become more hands - on, sophisticated, and demanding. this shift in tourist behavior has led to new tourist destinations in addition to the more traditional destinations of europe, north america, and the caribbean. tourism is also one of the most resilient global industries. through the years, it has proven capable of handling setbacks and adapting to the changing environment in which it has to operate. moreover, tourism helps preserve and stimulate countries ’ natural and cultural heritage. today, investments in tourism even take into account environmental aspects, particularly the prevention of environmental degradation. bis central bankers ’ speeches ladies and gentlemen, moving now to our region, the caribbean is commonly referred to as the world ’ s most tourism - dependent region. tourism constitutes the region ’ s most important economic pillar, contributing 14 % of caribbean gdp and 11 % of its total employment. also, the sector generates the largest share of foreign exchange income. in spite of its small scale and vulnerability to external shocks, our region has registered continued growth in the number of tourist arrivals. in 2014, for example, 26. 3 million tourists traveled to the region, representing a 5. 3 % growth compared to 2013. similar to most caribbean economies, tourism is the most important pillar of the curacao economy. this sector directly contributes 9. 2 % of gdp and 9. 6 % of employment. moreover, 26. 5 % of foreign exchange earnings from the export of goods and services are generated by the tourism industry. the industry also has indirect spin - off effects across all sectors of the economy, particularly the hotels & restaurants, wholesale & retail trade and transportation sectors. furthermore, the tourism sector contributes to the economy in terms of investments and government income. in this context, the tourism industry is highly labor intensive and, therefore, creates opportunities for many small and medium enterprises that provide goods and services to

regtech from the trade - off between the need for organizations to stay compliant with the rapidly changing regulations and the need to remain profitable, while suptech is focusing on the challenges faced by supervisory agencies2. the payment infrastructure is one of the examples where innovation has developed quickly with payment tools available directly through an app on a smartphone or even on a smartwatch nowadays. the issuance of central bank digital currency, which is a digital version of cash, could be seen as a natural consequence of the broader process of digitization of the financial system. in a world where assets are being traded electronically and payments are being made with smartphones, should there only be room for physical cash? central bank digital currency ladies and gentlemen, distributed ledger technology is currently reshaping the financial system and is here to stay in one form or another. if this financial revolution is not embraced by regulators, private players will continue to innovate and drive the development of alternative 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches technologies, new payment methods, and digital currencies. central banks need to become active shapers in the current debate to fulfill their mandates and drive change as active agents rather than passive bystanders. given some of the shortcomings of cryptocurrencies pointed out by the bis, some people have supported the idea of central banks issuing their own digital forms of currency as more stable and reliable alternatives to cryptocurrencies. let ’ s face it : a central bank digital currency could overcome the volatility risks of an unbacked asset with no intrinsic value. in addition, central banks are in better position to develop a robust financial infrastructure that provides a secure environment for both domestic and cross - border transactions. with the recent shift in the interest of central banks, it is not unthinkable to assume that digital cash will one day dominate the payment infrastructure. financial innovation ladies and gentlemen, as i noted a few minutes ago, the fintech industry is designing new services that better adapt to users ’ needs in order to expand its business. in doing so, fintechs try to find the right balance between the opportunities in the market place and the financial regulation they have to comply with. however, fintech will aim at enhancing profitability and, therefore, may not have the right incentives to reach a socially viable equilibrium. the greatest challenge for central banks is to find the right balance between the clear benefits that financial innovations have on growth and identifying and mitigating the associated