Onward and Upward for Tourism in First Half

Belize continues to draw tourists by land and sea to visit the Jewel, though not in record numbers as before. For the first half of the year, more than two hundred and thirty thousand travelers touched down in Belize, a rise of nearly eight percent overall, boosted by a record thirty-seven thousand-plus count of tourists in June. With figures for overall overnight arrivals in June rivaling figures in January, the Belize Tourism Board suggests that the “high season” months for tourism may be expanding. Meanwhile, cruise tourism has grown more modestly at three point one percent for the first half of 2017 although figures for May and June show decline compared to last year.  For the first time, arrivals for 2017 include visitors from both the seaports in Belize City as well as arrivals to Harvest Caye in the south.