Cayo Tour Stakeholders Demand Better Roads from BTB and NICH
Recently, the B.T.B. announced that the number of visitors to the jewel had exceeded forecasts and had reached a million even before the tradition spike at the end of the year. That is good news for the industry, because the high season which is about to start, is expected to bring another boost in visitors. But earlier today concerned about possible financial losses, the Cayo Chapter of the Belize Tourism Industry Association and the Cayo Tour Guides Association called on the Belize Tourism Board and the National Institute of Archaeology and History to act urgently to repair the road conditions to various nature reserves and archaeological sites in the Cayo District. The stakeholders believe that they stand to lose financially because the road conditions will make the sites inaccessible to visitors. The specific roads that need work lead to Barton Creek Cave, Mountain Pine Ridge and Cahal Pech Maya Ruins.
Yes the roads in Cayo and in particular are in horrible condition. It was only about five months ago that Minister Montero bragged that Government had millions and millions of dollars for road repair, and still the roads are in a terrible condition. Several weeks ago the people of Bullet Tree Falls Village raised one thousand dollars to repair some of our roads and asked Minister Montero to PARTNER with us, not just do the work but PARTNER us, to repair the Paslow Falls Road and he didn’t even have the courtesy to respond to our written request. But maybe the B.T.I.A. will have better luck. André Lopez, JP