‘Belize’s Tourism Will Bounce Back’

Travellers are tightening their wallets, flights are being cut, and Belize’s tourism industry is feeling the pinch. As previously reported, the Belize Tourism Board reported an 8.6% drop in overnight tourist arrivals for September compared to the same period last year.

It is a worrying sign for a sector that fuels much of the national economy.

Area Representative for Belize Rural South, Andre Perez, acknowledged that the past few months have been unusually slow for his constituencies of Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker, which are two of Belize’s most popular tourism hotspots.

He explained that although the industry took off quickly after the COVID-19 pandemic, “It has been something slow.”

Still, Perez remains confident that Belize will bounce back despite the “polarisation of the [US] government.”

Over in the United States, job losses have reached a new high amid the prolonged federal government shutdown, prompting many American travellers to rethink their spending.

And if that didn’t do enough, the shutdown has also caused widespread flight disruptions, with cuts at 40 major American airports, including key gateways to Belize and the wider Caribbean.

Although the U.S. Congress appears close to ending the longest government shutdown in its history, analysts warn that its effects will linger. Travellers should not expect an immediate return to normal at airports.

“We’ve demonstrated that this is the place to come; Belize is a destination that is strategically placed whereby you can easily get here from different places throughout the region,” Perez added. “We still have in our pocket that we are going to be doing a successful year.”