Press Release

Dear BTIA Members, Instead of the usual President’s letter I would like to share the words of a stalwart of the tourism industry. Many of you know Tony Rath or at least know his work through his company, Naturalight. Over the last forty years few people have done more to promote the nation’s tourism and conservation of Belize’s natural resources than Tony. In the short essay below—originally posted on Facebook-- he turns his attention to an issue that dwarfs all others

Dear BTIA Members, It is now a year and five months since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in Belize. In the period beginning March 2020 we in the tourism industry have experienced a devastating period of lockdown, complete border closure, airport reopening, painfully slow initial recovery followed by a much more rapid recovery as vaccinations were introduced in the USA and pent up demand for travel took hold with a vengeance in late May and summer. At the same time internally

Dear BTIA Members, There’s an old saying that “the best time to plant a tree is yesterday”. Unfortunately, the same adage applies to vaccination for Covid-19 as it increasingly appears that in the race against the virus we are several months late and thousands of arms short. For a while, it looked like following a deadly first wave we had brought things under control. The Ministry of Health and Wellness somehow managed to acquire all the vaccines the country needed. The Ministry

Dear BTIA Member: While it is too early to pop the Champagne corks I am happy (ecstatic would be a better word) to report that after a year of disaster and a few months of cautious optimism it is safe to say that Belizean tourism is strongly rebounding. Here’s the evidence: Americans are flying again. Thanks to a successful vaccination campaign, U.S. travelers are heading to airports in such record numbers that the TSA is facing a shortage of agents. Arrivals

Dear BTIA Members: In communicating with our membership on a roughly monthly basis, I usually begin with a general introduction, update the latest happenings in the industry, and finish with what I judge to be an important core message. Today, however, I would like to cut to the chase with the core message upfront. GET VACCINATED! NOW! GET YOUR EMPLOYEES VACCINATED! NOW! GET YOUR COLLEAGUES VACCINATED! NOW! GET YOUR FAMILY VACCINATED! NOW! GET YOUR FRIENDS VACCINATED! NOW! If you want to see the tourism industry—and, by extension,