Representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) and other key officials today met with stakeholders in Belize’s fledgling cruise tourism industry, based in Belize City, in order to drum up support for the newly established Fort George Tourism Zone, scheduled to go into operation next week.
According to Director of Tourism Seleni Matus, while Belize continues to be among the top tourist destinations in the Western Hemisphere, cruise visitors consistently rate us among the worst destinations for cruise ship travelers to visit. Part of the problem, they say, is a lack of organization.
And so, following meetings with nearly all of the stakeholders in cruise tourism over the last year, the BTB today unveiled the first part of its plan to revitalize cruise tourism in Belize as the first step toward turning, as Matus put it, the cruise ships’ one-day visitors into overnight – and repeat – visitors.
To reduce the “chaotic” atmosphere resulting from tour operators, hair braiders, vendors and others “rushing” the tourists leaving the Tourism Village for their dollars, vendors will be placed in a temporary craft market on North Front Street and a rotation system will be put into place that allows each operator/tour guide a slice of the pie. A dispatch system has also been created to facilitate this.
To enforce order, special constables and Tourism Police have been trained to sniff out trouble and eliminate it. Eight have been appointed initially and there are more to follow.
The Tourism Zone covers most of the eponymous Fort George constituency, from North Front Street to the south to Marine Parade in the north and Queen Street at the east, to the Tourism Village. According to Lloyd Enriquez, BTB senior manager, it is hoped that entertainment for Belizeans will be included.
The tourism officials speaking today, including outgoing CEO in the Ministry of Tourism Michael Singh, emphasized cooperation between the stakeholders, the Village and tourism officials to work out all the kinks. Additional training and site visits to similar cruise destinations to observe their organization are in the works.
The plan has support from Government – Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia said it was designed for both the benefit of the workers and tourists, and from City Hall – Mayor Zenaida Moya-Flowers signed the statutory instrument declaring the Zone and charged all present to help Belize City put its best foot forward by preserving the history and protecting the attractions on display.
But the most important piece in the puzzle is yet to be filled. Responding to concerns that the freedom of hair braiders and the like to come and go and solicit tourists as they please is under threat, Enriquez maintained that such solicitations had to be done in an orderly fashion.
The cruise lines, too, could present some problems. Tom Greenwood of the Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize (FECTAB), who has been vocal and adamant about the problems in Belize’s cruise industry, today lent his considerable support but warned that in planned high-level talks with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), one major cruise line could cause problems and has already been warning its passengers against coming ashore in Belize.
Singh reiterated that the second half of the plan is much-needed improvements to infrastructure in the Old Capital, whether under the Sustainable Tourism Program which covers much of the same area of the Tourism Zone, or through other initiatives.
The Zone is expected to be implemented sometime next week.