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Joined: Oct 1999
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Tourism stats show impressive gains
The report card on 2002 tourist arrivals is in...and guess what, the industry passed with flying colours. This afternoon, I caught up with Director of Tourism, Tracy Taegar who broke down the figures and provided an insider's perspective on the developments.
Tracy Taegar, Director of Tourism "The report has just come in for cruise ship figures for 2002, we are up by five hundred percent, which is significant. At the airport for December, we recorded an eighteen point seven percent growth in overnight arrivals. We haven't gotten the border figures yet, we should get that confirmed today, but I believe by the end of the year we should have a two percent growth in overnight arrivals, which is what we projected for this year."
Janelle Chanona "How are we coping as a country with these rapid increases in tourism development?"
Tracy Taegar "I think we're coping pretty well. Certainly we're liasing with private sector in terms of looking at moderating growth in cruise ship sector, we have to be very careful with that
obviously. Overnight arrivals, with the new air service coming, I think will be significant for next year once we don't have any major crisis like the impending war with the U.S. But we feel very comfortable with the steady growth in overnight arrivals and we certainly will try and moderate the growth in cruise ship arrivals so that it can be sustainable in the long term."
Janelle Chanona "Are we still looking at five, six ships coming in or will we stick around the four and five."
Tracy Taegar "I don't believe we'll go over the four ships a day. There are very random cases where we will have five ships, but it's not the recommendation of the board at this time to go beyond three to four ships a day."
Belize's tourism figures compare very well with other Caribbean destinations, most of which have not yet recovered from the impact of the September eleventh, 2001 terror attacks. Many have recorded negative growth rates for two successive years.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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This is very interesting, and positive. However, one wonders what will happen with the war with Iraq and reflecting the travel industry overall. If the economy becomes even more stressed, Americans, Canadians, and Brits may not have the extra financial resources to come back to Belize. Who knows right ? The second small thorn in the tourism in Belize can be a problem if the reef starts dying, or if the incredible tropical forest become stripped by Dams or slash and burn agricultural techniques. No one is going to come down here if mother nature is on her death bed. i pray to God people have enough common sense, not to destroy one of the most incredible habitat I have ever saw in my life. Best-Wishes, Mel S.....
Mel Sinderman
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Joined: Oct 1999
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Here's a lil more along those lines...
Airport arrivals on major upswing
On yesterday's newscast B.T.B. director Tracy Taegar summarized the latest tourism figures, pointing to a whopping five fold increase in 2002 cruise arrivals, a respectable two percent rise in airport tourist landings, with a heavy eighteen percent jump in the most recent fourth quarter of the year. Today a closer look at figures provided by the Belize Airports Authority clearly indicate that arrivals have rebounded in a big way, and if the trend holds, 2003 should be the biggest yet for Belize's tourism industry. Numbers for all international arrivals at the Philip Goldson International Airport in October, November and December show an increase of over seven thousand passengers from the terrorism plagued year of 2001. The latest numbers are also well above the same months for the year 2000. Even more encouraging are the stats for the month of December alone, which show a one-year leap of over twenty-nine percent in airport arrivals. This reflects the impact of new routes to Belize four days each week by U.S. Air and Air Jamaica, which between them accounted for over eighteen hundred incoming passengers in December. For U.S. Air, business has been so encouraging that it plans to introduce daily service in March. During this same December period, American Airlines and Continental introduced supplemental service from Miami and Newark, respectively. These two U.S. carriers continue to battle head to head for supremacy on the Belize run with 2002 ending in virtually a dead heat. American brought sixty-seven thousand, four hundred and seventeen people to Belize, while Continental boarded only six less.
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Joined: Oct 1999
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BTB: Cruise ship sector grows record 564% BELIZE CITY, Wed. Jan. 15, 2003
Despite the November 27th fiasco at the Tourism Village that was said to have given the Belize tourism industry a "black eye," causing losses of over US$80,000 in the cruise ship sector due to cancellation of tours, the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is this year reporting record growth in that sector of the tourism industry.
Tourism director, Tracey Taegar, has reported that the cruise sector of the tourism industry has grown 564% over 2001.
Incidentally, the same year that saw the greatest growth in the cruise ship sector also saw what is perhaps the most embarrassing event for the industry: a strike by Novelo's Bus Line and Belitur against Cruise Solutions Ltd. and a protest by Cruise Solutions tour guides, in response to the strike. all before the eyes of hundreds of tourists who had come ashore to enjoy Belize. It also saw a controversy among the smaller entrepreneurs who resisted a move to relocate them from the streetside to the Memorial Park. However, both situations were later amicably diffused.
Meanwhile, Taegar informed that overnight arrivals at the Philip Goldson International Airport for the last quarter in 2002 grew 15% over the previous year, when the September 11th attack on the United States sent economic shocks rippling across the globe.
She went on to say that the projected growth in overnight arrivals was anticipated at 2%. The final figures on arrivals through the nation's land borders are still pending; however, Taegar said that all indications are that they have reached that 2% goal.
According to the BTB, the tourism industry grew 8% in 2000, when a heavy international campaign promoting Belize as a must see tourist destination was launched, and Belize was actively promoted for the first time on international television.
In addition to continued growth in the cruise ship sector - for which another 300% is programmed for 2003 - four new destinations were added to Belize's air travel itinerary. US Airways and Air Jamaica began new flights to Belize last year, and American Airlines and Continental Airlines, two of the major and longstanding international carriers operating in Belize, added a Miami and Newark flight, correspondingly.
Taegar said that if there is no war against Iraq this year, they anticipate another 5 to 8% growth in the tourism industry in 2003.
Asked if the industry has fully rebounded from the September 11 attacks, Taegar said that the country is still rebounding. Other countries in the region, she said, have observed a decline of 12 to 30% in tourism arrivals, but through the partnership between the public and private sector, Belize has managed to see a net growth.
Taegar further stated that the BTB has decided that it would not push the cruise sector beyond four ships on any one day, as they are trying to focus on building a sustainable industry. The BTB plans to undertake infrastructural improvements, train front-line personnel in the industry, and upgrade and develop new sites to market, she added.
Previous reports on revenues earned by the cruise sector in 2002 placed the figure at $27 million. The final figures are being compiled and should be ready in the next few weeks.
Amandala spoke with some of the vendors from both inside and outside the village, and while those who have long been in the sector unanimously conceded that they did see a significant boost in tourist traffic this year, most said that the extent of the growth is not being reflected in their pockets.
Some vendors inside the village say that most of the money they made went back into paying overhead costs, like a rent of US$450 a month, a promotion fee of US$35 per cruise ship, and a US$40 monthly light bill - this adds up to over US$1,000 per month for some vendors.
Furthermore, vendors inside the village complain that those outside are underselling them. They maintain that because of high overhead costs, they must sell their items at a higher price than those outside to be able to sustain their businesses.
Meanwhile, those outside the village, who pay the City of Belize $25 monthly for vending on the streetside, say that even though more cruise ship tourists have been coming to Belize, the sales have not been increasing to the same extent, as not all tourists who come off the ships would spend money. Two vendors said today that they made no money on Wednesday, when one cruise ship docked offshore Belize.
A significant factor affecting individual earnings is the increase in the number of people who have entered the market. Though the pie has gotten bigger, more people are trying to get a slice of it. However, one streetside vendor told the newspaper that she does not mind sharing with those who want to join in to make a living.
from Amandala
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Joined: Nov 2001
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marty, i am doing everything in my power to increase that tourism stat for 2003!!! gay
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