National Strategy Aims to Safeguard Belize’s Booming Tourism Industry

Belize’s tourism industry is booming, but behind the postcard-perfect views and warm hospitality lies a growing concern, safety. As more visitors flock to our shores, the need to protect them, and the industry they fuel, has never been more urgent. From illegal tour operations to remote-area risks, the threats are real. But so is the response. A national tourism security strategy is now taking shape, bringing together police, the military, health services, and local communities in a united front. Earlier today, these stakeholders gathered for the annual Tourism Security Summit. Here’s News Five’s Isani Cayetano with the following story.

 

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Tourism is the heartbeat of Belize’s economy, and our visitors are at the center of it all. But while visitors come to explore our beauty and culture, they often don’t know the local laws, customs, or potential risks. That’s where a national tourism security strategy comes in.

 

Herman Blease, Security Specialist, Belize Tourism Board

“Many times, people who are violating our regulations, we don’t go out and look for them, many times. People who see these violations, they call us and tell us and that helps us to strategize and then we get the different agencies to assist us in addressing or mitigating those threats. And so, we have a lot of issues in terms of illegal tour guiding, illegal tour operations, NICH has problems with illegals, people going to the sites and conducting illegal tours. All of those things combine is a threat or are a threat to the tourism industry.”

 

It’s about making sure every destination across the country meets the same high safety standards, has quick emergency response systems in place, and visible protections that not only keep visitors safe but also boost Belize’s reputation as a world-class, worry-free destination. A few years back, trouble in Mountain Pine Ridge put tourists at risk, and that was a wake-up call. It pushed the Belize Defense Force and the Belize Tourism Board to join forces and come up with a plan.

 

Lt. Col. Jermaine Burns, Future Plans & Policy Officer

“We engaged with the tourism security specialist at BTB to ask how they could help us enhance our effect there because you would imagine that we had some transportation issues back then, covering that entire area. It’s one of our biggest operational areas. And so, they stepped up and we formed the tourism task force and we started discussing different strategies of improving security in that specific area.”

 

That partnership is paying off. Tourism is more than beautiful beaches and ancient ruins, it’s a driving force of Belize’s economy, fueling jobs and boosting our GDP. But it’s also fragile. One serious incident, whether it’s crime, a natural disaster, or even a global scare, can lead to immediate cancellations and long-term damage to our image.

 

Herman Blease

“We are about fifty percent of GDP and we only need one incident to move from what we call a high season to a slow season because if we are in a high season and we have an incident, that incident is so bad it hurts the industry, we then go into a slow season and we all have difficulties in terms of our daily bread. And this industry provides thousands of jobs for Belizeans and so we need to protect it.”

 

That’s why having a national tourism security strategy matters. It’s about staying ahead of the risks with smart planning and solid crisis response systems, so we protect both our visitors and our reputation. From police and immigration officers to health workers, tour operators, and even the communities that welcome visitors, everyone plays a role. But without a national game plan, efforts can get scattered, slow, and sometimes even duplicated. That’s why a unified tourism security strategy is key.

 

DCP Bart Jones, Commander of Operations

“The police’s role in this is critical; one, to be an important partner in the tourism industry. We recognize that the tourism industry plays a very important role in respect of our economy and we recognize as well from the police department that little effects, or little incidents can trigger certain [chains of events] that will impact on that industry. So from the police department, we look at tourism security, not just from the physical security of the tourist, but also how police interact with tour guides, what measures we have in place to ensure that the buses are having the necessary amount of guides that they should have, and looking at how we interact with persons at our checkpoints, so we recognize that it is not just the physical security, but the overall security of the industry.”

 

These days, safety is a dealbreaker for travelers. People want to know that they’re going somewhere secure, especially families and business travelers who tend to spend more and stay longer.

 

Nicole Usher-Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of Tourism

“I want to emphasize that it’s not only about the visitors, it’s about our residents and our citizens. What our residents and citizens need is the exact same thing that our visitors need. So, once we can effectively put in place what is necessary for us as a community, we are, by extension, taking care of our visitors.”

 

Countries that invest in strong security systems don’t just keep visitors safe, they climb the global tourism rankings, attract high-value markets, and build a reputation that keeps people coming back. Isani Cayetano for News Five.