Tourism, B.P.O. Officials Agree with PM on Tourism Stats and Unemployment

On Tuesday, Prime Minister John Briceño told the country in his State of the Nation address that the inflation rate has gone down by two-point-five percent. The persons we checked with about their shopping experiences disagreed with the PM, citing instances where basic food items went up by significant amounts. Briceno also said that the economy was performing very well, and that the unemployment rate was down to three percent. The Statistical Institute of Belize shared that same percentage figure several months ago. The PM also said that the boost in employment in the B.P.O. and tourism sectors was so that it has brought about a skilled labour shortage. News Five checked today with two officials in these respective fields of work who agree with the PM. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Never before have so many jobs been available and never before has the minimum wage been so high. In fact, as employers can attest, the jobs boom in the B.P.O. sector and in the tourism industry, as two examples, have brought about a skilled labor shortage.”

 

 

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

The skilled labor shortage that is being experienced is because of the high employment rate in the B.P.O. industry, according to Prime Minister John Briceño. The PM shared that Belize’s unemployment rate currently stands at three percent. This was a figure that the Statistical Institute of Belize shared only months ago when it circulated the country’s latest statistics. Today, Business Senator and C.E.O. of Protel B.P.O., Kevin Herrera said that the PM’s figures are reflected in a labour shortage they are experiencing in the industry.

 

Kevin Herrera, CEO, Protel BPO

“What we’re experiencing in Belize is a labour shortage and whether you’re looking at persons working on the farm or farm owners needing workers, or whether you’re looking in the city at B.P.O.s needing workers or in tourism, I think we share that common need for more labour from persons who are committed. What we found is you really have to go there and search and dig pretty hard to find the type of persons to work that you need, and so I think that goes right back to what the Prime Minister is saying, you know, is that the unemployment rate has fell to around three percent are the official figures, and I think that has certainly created some type of stress  in terms of employers trying to source the necessary or the required labor that they need.”

 

Herrera says that he has seen a significant difference in the number of people applying for B.P.O. jobs five years ago to the companies now having to hunt for individuals to hire. The PM also said that while unemployment is down, tourism arrivals are at an all-time high, surpassing pre-COVID era numbers.

 

 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“The tourism industry, for example, is one of those areas where, as one of the fastest growing sectors in the Caribbean and Latin America, we have made remarkable strides. The first half of this year, overnight arrivals have surpassed pre-pandemic levels by fifteen percent and increased by twenty-six-point five percent compared to last year. This historic productivity spread across multiple economic sectors have seen our annual gross production grow by more than thirty-four percent since 2020.”

 

In this sector, the PM also got support from the President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association, Stewart Krohn.

 

Stewart Krohn, President, BITA

“I think the Prime Minister’s figures were exactly correct. The tourism numbers are at a record high. We’ve exceeded the 2019 numbers. So we’re way ahead of where we were then. And we’ve greatly exceeded the 2023 numbers, in other words, thus far anyway. So I do not see how statistically, the industry could be doing better, in terms of aggregate numbers, I would add to the Prime Minister’s figures, the fact that not only are the number of arrivals up, but the amount that tourists are spending both on hotels, transport, food and such, that is up even greater than the number of visitors is up.”

 

But only a few weeks ago, the Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize held a press conference to share concerns about the tourism industry and the Minister of Tourism, Anthony Mahler indicated that cruise tourism was on a decline because Belize was not equipped with a cruise port berthing facility.

 

 

 

 

Yhonny Rosado, Member, FECTAB

“The people inside FSTV are getting older, tired, and they are making less money. If it is not so, the people inside FSTV can hold their press conference and state that we are lying. We thought the new government, Anthony Mahler would help us uplift the industry. We are so wrong. The government still has a few years to be in. And the way the opposition is going, to be specific, Mr. Shyne as the leader, is very discouraging because in a good country, in a stable country you need a strong opposition to scare the government in power to do the right thing.”

 

This would be a facility that Krohn says would improve cruise tourism for Belize.

 

Stewart Krohn

“My familiarity with the cruise industry is not as strong as it is in overnight, but as far as the cruise industry goes, it’s been kind of a fiasco, but let’s face it on many levels. I think the thing that’s important about the cruise industry is that if we’re going to have a cruise industry, and I think We ought to have a cruise industry. It should be the best that it can be.  It’s clear that the present open roadstead and tendering that is going on presently is not the way we want to go. We need a cruise port, whether it’s Stake Bank, which I think will work fine, or another cruise port.”

Marion Ali for News Five.