Belize Welcomes Hundreds for Regional Tourism Conference

This week, the Caribbean’s tourism spotlight is shining on Belize. The country is playing host to one of the region’s largest tourism gatherings, welcoming more than three hundred delegates from twenty nine countries for the seventeenth Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development. Hosted by the Belize Tourism Board in partnership with the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the conference opened today under the theme “Tourism in Full Color,” highlighting how the region can grow its tourism industry while protecting the environment it depends on. And in the Caribbean, tourism isn’t just business, it’s the backbone of the economy, accounting for about a third of regional GDP and, in some island states, nearly ninety percent. Opening the conference, Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler greeted delegates with a message of pride, celebrating Belize’s natural beauty and rich cultural heritage.

 

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism

“To our international guests who are visiting for the first time, you are in a country that holds extraordinary natural and cultural wealth, and all this in 8,867 square miles. And for those of you who don’t know, that’s about twice the size of Jamaica, we can push out our chest, right? And as one people, we’ve built a nation of warmth and cultural richness. This is Belize, where the natural world and the human story are extraordinary and truly worth protecting. This is precisely why we’re here this week, to advance sustainable tourism across the Caribbean and beyond. The survival of our economies, our people, and our planet depends on the way we grow and manage our tourism industry. Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries and a major pillar of development for over 140 countries, and according to UN Tourism, international tourist arrivals reached a record 1.5 billion tourists globally in 2025, generating an estimated 2.2 trillion US dollars in export revenues. Of those arrivals, the Caribbean welcomed an estimated 70 million visitors to our shores, half for cruise and half for the overnight sector. For many of our nations, tourism is not merely a sector of the economy. It is the economy.”

 

The conference runs throughout the week, with sessions focused on climate resilience, community development, and the future of Caribbean tourism.

 

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.

 

Watch the full newscast here: