8. Improve the overall coordination of the marketing and other tourism management functions, through the use of ICT and thereby enable the sustainable development of the sector 9. Strengthen national security through the smart and strategic use of ICT to securely share information among authorised officials, and to improve internal administration and operations St. Lucia’s current level of ICT development was evaluated to provide an understanding of the developmental needs and barriers that exist. The country’s ICT infrastructure is fairly well established; however there is a much larger penetration in the towns than in the rural areas. There are approximately 20,000 Internet subscribers throughout the island. Internet bandwidth, however, is limited and relatively expensive. Use of mobile phones increased from 60 percent in 2004 to more than 99 percent in 2009, with the telecommunications industry accounting for 10.8 percent of the GDP in 2007. A key challenge is the limited number of skilled ICT professionals available within the island, with only a few businesses offering ICT services and a limited amount of software development. Several key pieces of ICT enabling legislation have already been drafted and most ministries are making reasonable efforts to utilise technology to enhance their processes and services to the public. Based on the country’s needs and challenges, the Plan was developed around key areas of focus and identifies how technology can promote and develop these sectors. An ICT policy was developed, and projects and programmes have been designed to move St. Lucia from its current state of ICT development, to a level of preparedness that will allow the country to take full advantage of the social and economic benefits that ICT offers. Most of the projects outlined in the Plan contain inter‐dependencies and require multi‐stakeholder collaboration in order to be successful. Highlights of the Programmes and Projects are given below: • The ‘Virtual St. Lucia’ and ‘One St. Lucia’ Programmes will strengthen St. Lucia’s presence online and provide visitors with a seamless, hassle‐free vacation planning experience • The national ICT Infrastructure will be upgraded to meet the needs of each community, particularly in the rural areas, and to support new and emerging technologies • Government infrastructure will be enhanced to support better systems integration, collaboration and sharing of information among ministries, departments, and agencies • Computers will be refurbished, reallocated, and maintained to provide schools and the less fortunate with access to ICT • Schools will be networked to allow students and teachers greater access to information and resources to develop their skills and enhance the teaching and learning experience [2]