BTIA Holds “Tourism Means Business” Forum in the Cayo District
The Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) is pleased to announce the successful hosting of the "Tourism Means Business" Forum, which was designed to bring together key stakeholders from across the tourism sector. The forum took place on Friday, June 21st at the Galen University Campus in the Cayo District, providing a platform for insightful discussions, networking, and collaboration aimed at driving the sustainable growth of Belize's tourism industry.
BTIA 37th Annual General Meeting
Speaking at the 37th Annual General Meeting of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, which was held yesterday at the Best Western Plus Biltmore Plaza, President Stewart Krohn congratulated members for their remarkable comeback from the Covid-19 pandemic and pointed to five areas that BTIA needed to focus on in the coming year.
Message from the President October 2022
I am happy to report that most indicators point to a full recovery for the overnight sector of Belize’s tourism industry for the 2022/23 winter season. The rebound is in line with the general trend in the Caribbean and has been significantly more robust than was predicted when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its height.
Message from the President July 2022
Statistical and anecdotal evidence continues to point to a strong recovery for Belize’s Tourism Industry. While the outlook for the rest of the summer and fall—our traditionally slowest time of the year—is not likely to reach last year’s “revenge travel”-inspired levels the general consensus is that late November and beyond will see both hotel occupancy and overall tourism revenues return to at least 2019 levels.
BTIA Holds Membership Mixer In Orange Walk Town And Hopkins Village
On Wednesday, June 15, BTIA Orange Walk held a membership mixer at the Nahil Mayab Restaurant and Patio. The mixer had the attendance of Vice President Osmany Salas, Executive Director Linette Canto, the Orange Walk Board of Directors, BTIA members and other tourism stakeholders.
BTIA Hosts A Very Successful Tourism Summit
On Thursday May 26, BTIA hosted the “Reimagining Belizean Tourism” summit. This was done in partnership with the University of Belize and with support from MarFund. The goal of the summit was to bring together stakeholders to discuss issues relevant to the future of Belize’s tourism and was presented in five panels, as follows:
Message from the President June 2022
There is no shortage of good news in the tourism industry and I’d like to share some of it with our BTIA members. Visitor arrivals are gradually returning to 2019 levels and individual visitor spending has increased significantly over pre-pandemic levels. Part of the reason is the much discussed “pent up demand for travel” as well as the general increase in upscale accommodations and more exotic activities. This means that even with fewer tourists more money is being spent on
Chocolate Festival of Belize 2022
BTIA is pleased to announce that the Chocolate Festival is back. We could not be more excited to see the revival of this remarkable event which had to be put on hold due to the pandemic. The Chocolate Festival of Belize is traditionally held every May, over the Commonwealth Day weekend, and attracts a wide variety of visitors including international tourists, Belizean Travelers and residents of Toledo and surrounding areas. While the holiday is not on the calendar this year, the
Message from the President May 2022
Our experience with the concept of human nature tells us that as a species we tend to have short memories. Case in point: for at least a year-and-a half our industry suffered the most devastating blow in its history. Today, barely two years from the shutdown of our borders, massive layoffs and millions of dollars in losses, the buzz among tourism stakeholders is how strong the recent recovery has been and what new investments we will be making in the
Mandatory travel/health insurance: positive or negative for tourism?
Every country in the world—as well as their many states, provinces and municipalities—has been forced over the last two years to deal with the creation and implementation of policies to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. If you can name a country that has done it right please let me know, because every time the press has hailed a country that has the magic formula—Israel! Sweden! China! Canada!—the euphoria turns to horror as the statistics rise or human rights evaporate.