Belize Chases New Tourism Deals at CATM 2026

Six countries have set up booths at this year’s edition of Centroamérica Travel Market. Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Each one is designed to showcase the best of its country, win over international buyers and lock in deals that bring more visitors through their borders. CATM 2026 opened its trade floor in Guatemala City today, and hoteliers and tour operators are there chasing deals. Behind those handshakes is News 5’s Benita Keme-Palacio with this report.

 

Benita Keme-Palacio, Reporting

Music, culture, good food and your next travel destination. That’s what the Centroamérica Travel Market 2026 is offering here in Guatemala. Behind the colorful displays and country showcases, tourism stakeholders are meeting with international wholesalers and tour operators, hoping to secure partnerships that could translate into bookings for the coming travel seasons. Belize has brought one of its largest delegations to this year’s trade show, with forty-two delegates and eighteen booth spaces. Their mission is to put Belize in front of new buyers, particularly in Europe and Latin America, and turn interest in the destination into contracts. Those conversations are especially important as the country prepares to welcome a new direct air connection from Europe.

 

Efren Perez, President, BTIA

“One of the important highlights here that I would definitely like to make is that late yesterday there was the announcement of the Discovery Airline flight from Europe, from Frankfurt to Belize. And so that gives us a really good strength in terms of talking to these European agents that are here. For them to start to work. For them to start to put our properties on their portfolio for the next season.”

 

The goal is not simply to attract more visitors; it is also to broaden the markets Belize depends on. Tourism stakeholders are continuing their push for Central America as another source of travellers, particularly during the slower months. Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala, Jose Alpuche, says the region’s travel patterns could help fill some of those gaps.

 

Jose Alpuche, Ambassador of Belize to Guatemala.

“In the past, we’ve always had Belize as a secondary market. They would fly into Mexico or into Guatemala and then visit Belize as a secondary market. Now, with the new air links direct from Europe, Belize becomes a primary market for Europe. It’s very, very encouraging.”

 

But expanding regional tourism also means looking at the obstacles that can make travel between neighboring countries difficult. Perez pointed to challenges at Belize’s border crossings, a problem that could undermine efforts to market the country and sell multidestination packages.

 

Efren Perez

“We were talking to some of the tour operators from Guatemala who expressed that they are having difficulties at the border points, right? Something that needs to be addressed. And so the ambassador along with myself, we will be looking at some of these things and trying to see how best we’ll be able to reach out to the necessary stakeholders like immigration. To have that dialogue to see how this could be improved. Because the investment that is being made by the Belize Tourism Board in marketing Belize in these events and the investment being made by the stakeholders is also very important to consider, right? And so it has to work hand in hand.”

 

It also takes working together as a region, and step away from selling each destination separately. As put by the director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute, the region has more to gain as partners.

 

Harris Whitbeck, Director, InGuat

“Tourism is an incredible mechanism for getting people to understand each other. And that’s where we come from. You know, we would love to welcome more Belizean visitors to Guatemala. We would love for more Guatemalans to visit Belize because that’s where we start understanding each other. It’s as simple as that. And I would love to find ways that we can work more closely together on that from the public sector and also from the private sector.”

 

For Patricia Ramirez, owner of Splash DMC, coming to CATM year after year has become a measure of what the year ahead looks like. This year, she has 40 meetings booked and a clear target of closed partnerships.

 

Patricia Ramirez, Owner, Splash DMC

“I’m the kind of person with the mentality that a few new partnerships is best than having so much partnerships that you can do non-good. So if I could get at least 10 partnerships of my 40 meetings, I will be glad. That’s gonna be a success, yes.”

 

Patricia isn’t the only one counting. Ka’ana Resort in San Ignacio and its sister property, Itz’ana in Placencia, are also working the floor. Director of Marketing and Sales, Jessica Mijangos, says the bigger job is changing how buyers see Belize.

 

Jessica Mijangos, Director of Marketing and Sales, Ka’ana Resort

“A lot of people don’t understand how Belize can be sold and they think it’s more jungle. Or a lot of people think it’s a lot of beach and a lot of tourism for the caves and everything. But to understand that we have so much to give for the destination. That we have our property in San Ignacio, which is jungle, adventure, and Mayan ruins. And then we also have the beach, Plasencia, and all the activities that they can do in the water. It gives more perspective of them. So I can see more people understanding Belize as a country, as a destination.”

 

The trade floor stays open through tomorrow. For now, the room remains buzzing with a question in the air: Will these handshakes turn into sealed deals? Benita Keme-Palacio for News 5.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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