Can Mexican Visitors Transform Belizean Tourism?

For years, Belizeans have enjoyed easier short-term travel into southern Mexico. Now, Belize is preparing to return the favor, with hopes of turning cross-border convenience into a major tourism boost. Prime Minister John Briceño says a new visitor card will allow Mexican nationals to enter Belize for up to seven days, travel beyond Corozal and explore the entire country without paying entry fees. The government is also working to waive Customs charges for visitors bringing their vehicles across the border, although they would still need to purchase insurance upfront. After two years of development, Briceño says the initiative could unlock a valuable tourism market by drawing five percent of the Corozal Free Zone’s 1.1 million Mexican visitors into the rest of Belize.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Certainly for us, it’s a historic day because for many years we have been finding ways on how we can be able to get Mexicans to cross the border to Belize easier. For many years Mexico has given us these digital cards, these cards for us to be able to cross into Mexico and to be able to go up to Merida for seven days. So we’ve been working on this from 2024. At one point in time, I was the Minister of Immigration and during that time we worked along with Minister Musa and the Minister of Tourism [Anthony] Mahler, and the Cabinet, and we agreed that we wanted to do this card. It’s been a long process. With this card now, it will make it easier for Mexicans to come to Belize and visit the entire country because at one time they could have only gone as far as Corozal. They’ll be able to visit Belize for seven days, they pay no fees. We’re even working with the Customs Department that they’ll be able to bring in their vehicles without paying any fees. The only thing they’ll have to pay upfront, obviously, is the insurance. We have a hundred and thirty million Mexicans right across the border and one point one million Mexicans come to the free zone. As I said earlier, if we can get five percent of one point one million, that’s fifty-five thousand Mexicans to be able to cross into Belize.”

 

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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