Tourism - Channel 5 Belize

Belize Official Host Destination for this Inaugural Global Awards

Belize is set to host the first annual World Sustainable Travel and Hospitality Awards Gala Ceremony on Friday, September 27, 2024. The privilege is seen as a recognition of Belize’s leadership in encouraging conscientious and sustainable initiatives in tourism.

News Five was present at the launching of the award last year in Dubai, UAE. According to the official announcement made by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB), this global event is scheduled to happen this year on the same day as World Tourism Day, September 27.

Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, Anthony Mahler, said, “These new awards from the World Travel Awards will shine a light on the biggest players in sustainability from across the globe…Responsible tourism is central to everything we do in Belize. From leading the way for the conservation of Jaguars in Central America with the Maya Forest Corridor, to the development of community-based tourism clusters that promote the preservation of our Indigenous Communities and our work rolling out our Sustainable Tourism Certification Program for Protected Areas and tourism-based businesses in the next couple of years, Belize is committed to sustainable tourism development.”.

Nicole Solano, C.E.O. of the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, told News Five, “This is the first of its kind under the World Travel Awards banner… We will be welcoming the winners in the categories for this big event in September.”

In addition to hosting, Belize has lined up nominations in various categories. “Belize companies have submitted as well, but remember they are competing with all of these global companies,” Solano said.

In addition, Belize has been nominated for World’s Leading Sustainable Destination 2024. Various Belize companies have been nominated under the following categories: World’s Leading Sustainable Female Empowerment Initiative 2024, Leading Sustainable Cultural Heritage Project 2024, Leading Sustainable Marine Conservation Initiative 2024, Leading Sustainable Community Engagement Programme 2024.

The voting period is open and will end on August 2 of this year.

After ten Years, CTGA Tourism Camp is Back

After ten years, the Cayo Tour Guide Association Summer Conference is back. This four-day event serves as an opportunity for youths to experience Belize with a new perspective and develop an interest in conservation practices. Up to twenty-five participants will be selected to embark on this trip through an essay competition. Jorge De Leon, President of the association and Alba Tut, camp organizer, gave us some more details.

Alba Tut, Organizer

“We want all the students or our kids, the ages between twelve and fifteen to participate send us an essay writing based on two questions. One, what are the responsibilities of our tour guide in Belize? And two, why should I be part of the summer camp 2024? When you write the essay, you can send it to my personal email and then I will be sharing it with the other guides and teachers that will be helping review.” And the summer camp is free of cost for anyone that will be participating. The tour guides and partners will be taking care of. of the expenses and all of the planning that we have. So we just want the kids to have fun and have a great experience that they will remember in the future when they are all grown ups they know that they were part of the Cayo Tour Guide Association summer camp.”

Jorge De Leon, President, Cayo Tour Guide Association

“They will get a chance to experience from and get a different perspective of life giving them that opportunity, learn the importance about the tourism sector in Belize, learn about, how important it is to protect everything that we have in the country, and we’ll give them a chance to visit archaeological sites caves, learn about the medicinal plants and then we’ll have different guides We’ll take them into the Chiquibul. Be exposed to some of the information and experience of our Rangers, the Rangers of FCD, who are out there protecting, fighting fires, protecting the Chiquibul from illegal logging the wildlife, preventing the poaching.”

Those wishing to enter can contact the association at six-three-three-nine-seven-five-nine.

Belize Observed Biggest Day in Tourism Ever Last Month

Earlier this month, Belize observed the biggest day in tourism history with the highest number of visitors ever recorded. This influx of arrivals fell in line with the Ministry of Tourism and Diaspora Relations and the Belize Tourism Board’s estimations that 2024 would be Belize’s best year for the sector; not only meeting but surpassing the pre-pandemic numbers of 2019. According to C.E.O. Nicole Solano, this recovery is the result of several initiatives and efforts made by key players in the sector.

Nicole Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of Tourism Diaspora Relations

“The high season for tourism is generally between the months of November and about April. But March we saw almost it was actually the highest number of visitors that we had entering Belize ever. We did see a very good season. We expect that by the end of this year, we will be back to pre pandemic levels. Last year, we were only about ninety-two percent of 2019, but this year we expect that we will be not only back, but surpassing the numbers that we saw pre COVID. The Ministry of Tourism, of course, through our statutory board, the Belize Tourism Board, is looking at all of the product development opportunities throughout Belize. Because you have An increasing number of travelers coming to Belize, right? So very important is when they get here, they have a good experience. So in order for us to do that, we have to make sure that we’re looking at all of the sites and attractions and trying to make sure that they’re enhanced with, whatever it’s needed, bathroom facilities. The experience that they have when they get here is actually going to determine whether or not they talk positively about the destination or tell their friends, whether or not they have they come back, right? We want return visitors, but all of that will depend on the experience that they have when they get here. So our objective, of course, is to make sure that we do a review of all of the things within the industry that needs upliftment. We can’t solve everything. It’s a long way to go. There’s a lot of work to do, but every time we identify something that we can improve, we focus on that, put that in the plan, put that in the budget, and then try to make sure that we can implement.”