Is Belize’s Tourism Industry Losing Its Momentum?
Belize’s tourism industry is hoping for a recovery by the end of the year after overnight visitor arrivals fell by about thirteen per cent in August, according to Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler.
Mahler described August as the worst month on record for overnight arrivals, attributing the downturn to geopolitical issues and rising operating costs.
“Some airlines said that their costs have gone up by 60%. I spoke to the CEO of Discover [Airlines]. He said that has equated to billions of dollars for all their operations,” Mahler said.
The downturn comes as Belize continues to contend with sargassum along its coastline. Mahler said the seaweed has affected both international tourism and domestic travel, with some visitors avoiding coastal destinations because of the conditions.
”It’s not only an environmental crisis as we see it. Now it’s becoming a health crisis and an economic crisis because we’re losing tourism visitors,” Mahler said.
Despite the difficult summer, Mahler expects additional airline capacity to help stabilise arrivals during the final months of the year. “With new capacity being added, we believe that the rest of this year should balance off.”