Despite terrorism, hurricane, tourism holds its own

Statistics for the last three months show that despite the negative effects of the September eleventh bombings and Hurricane Iris, the Belizean tourism industry has held its own and should continue to grow during 2002. Numbers released by the Belize Tourism Board show that while September arrivals at the Philip Goldson International Airport dropped by twenty-two percent from last year, they actually rose almost eighteen percent during October. That figure is deceiving, however, because October 2000 was the month of Hurricane Keith, which reduced tourism at San Pedro to almost zero. But a look at November shows that arrivals are on a par with 2000 and only slightly below the record month in 1999. Early reports indicate that December airport arrivals should reach at least 2000 levels and the year, despite the recent setbacks, should end as the best on record. Commenting on the figures, Director of Tourism Tracy Taegar told News 5, “I think it’s amazing when you look at the decline for other destinations, that we’ve done as well as we have.” She attributes the industry’s performance not to any increased expenditure, but to a “relationship marketing” programme, in which the BTB staff and private sector operators have kept in constant touch with those abroad selling the country and keeping them informed of the advantages of travelling to Belize. Taegar added, however, that tourism is not yet out of the woods as a shortage of international airlift capacity and high airfares threaten to restrict the growth of the industry.