AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Talk Belize Travel Why Belize Suffers in the Tourism Business

I question how much control Belize has over airfares. But, they certainly have control over the experience visitors have once they come to Belize. Over development, lack of infrastructure and out of control crime are areas where the future of Belize is in more peril than the cost of the airline ticket.

bywarren, I agree. The experiences are why we keep coming back and why we pay the high airfares (which a lot of potential tourists would not know until they go). Not to mention to current economic crises which remains stubborn....Most folks are cutting back so the price of a ticket to Belize would not be considered over other, less expensive destinations. Interesting to note: my flight to Belize this coming Thanksgiving holiday is already full!

There has to be a reason that the Sunwing all inclusive package out of Toronto to La Placencia lands in Roatan and then flies its customers to Placencia via Maya Island Air. My guess, since the flight only to Roatan (with Sunwing's Champagne service) is priced at $445CA, is that the Honduras government is controlling the cost of bringing tourists there.

I have been vacationing in Belize for 2 to 4 weeks each year for the last 6 years and absolutely love it there. Unfortunately, since we are not wealthy, often bring our sons and their families and invite friends and family to join us, we have to take the increasingly expensive flight costs into consideration.

For next January, with the possibility of saving about $1700 to $2000 on airfare for the family, I'm looking into Roatan...and I'm not happy about it

Chris, I think we do agree to a point, just that you think BTB should be able to get the prices to drop and I don't see how.

my wife just made reservations from BZE to chicago.RT
as it is broke down,
airfare is 445$
fuel surcharge is 240$
then a bunch of 20-30$ taxes and fees for a total of 778$

I don't know the ins and outs of airline fare structures, so I don't know how this issue can be solved. My thesis is simply that if you have a problem, however difficult it may be, it is going to sit there forever and remain a problem if nothing is done.
If your car won't start, leaving it at home and catching buses to go to work each day isn't solving the problem. The car is still sitting there.
In this particular case, most people seem to be agreed that high airfares are a major (perhaps the major) barrier to future tourism growth.
All I have done is ask myself "whose responsibility is this?"
Clearly we have to look to our trade association (BTIA) and to the government department who looks after tourism (BTB). Nothing contentious there.
What I object to is futile attempts to improve tourism by (eg) encouraging South American tourists, cruise ship tourists, etc. this is IMHO just re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
No the problem is not an easy one. Like Phil I don't know the answer, but one thing I do know is that this will continue to be an issue until it is resolved.

You don't have to be a lawyer to understand that what you have suggested is the exact opposite of fairness and more importantly when you generalize about groups of people you are on, as they say, the slippery slope towards...... You have no idea how the people that can afford condo's and the like made their money and frankly the fact that they have more money in no way gives you a license to steal from them. What about the people that have a beautiful full head of hair? Will you pull enough of their hair out and pass it around until everyone has the same amount.
Remember the parable about the fish and teaching a man to fish rather than giving him fish. If you really wanted to do something that would benefit the country then start a business, train your people, punish harshly any theft or unethical treatment and work hard to unseat any politician that attempted to interfere with your endeavor.
Taking from others is never the solution but only the genesis of even bigger problems.

Sounds just like what our government (OTO, hopefully) is doing!

Phil - I am with you 100%. Belize took a major wrong turn when it allowed cruise ships, unregulated building of hotels and condos, and tried to get into the mass tourism game. The small unique, expensive, off-the-beaten-track eco market would have done much better for everyone in the long run. Quality vs quantity - Belize sold out and now will have to pay the price as the economy keeps tanking, and the people with major money don't want to come to a "mass" tourist place (and a fairly poorly done one at that, with no real luxury services and amemites save at a very few places). When you have the $$ to go anywhere, Belize does not even make the cut anymore, like it used to when it was unspoiled and unique. Only a few places like the FFC resorts, Cayo Espanto, maybe Chaa Creek & Chan Chich, maybe VH & Azul still retain the original high quality Belize attraction and service to match. Sad but true. Sure, lower airfare will help get bodies in beds but it's a whole different ballgame than what it was starting to be and could have been.... (just my opinion as a 30 yr veteran of the tourism biz)

It was not so long ago, perhaps 2 or 3 years that foreigners had to pay the GOB 15% of the purchase price on land transactions as a tax, they reduced that to 5% perhaps they know something you don't. Locals only paid 5%. Perhaps one of the real estate brokers can explain why they changed that tax. I also spent about $300,000 US to buy my property and build my house. That's more than most tourist spend in a lifetime of vacations to Belize. All that money was spent in Belize and employed Belizeans. I think I've done a reasonably amount to improve the local economy.