Tourism Industry May Reopen as Early as July

Dean Barrow

The opening up of the country for Belizeans to move freely to other local destinations can start as early as next week.  But that brings about the question of a pending date when the country will officially reopen for overnight and cruise tourism arrivals.  There is a possibility that visitors can begin arriving as early as July, providing that there are certain safety, as well as public health measures, put in place, including rapid testing for COVID-19.

Prime Minister Dean Barrow

“This domestic tourism push naturally raises the issue of our opening up to foreign tourism.  We are clearly not there yet and my best guess, my personal guess, is not before July.  That, I would like to note, is also the position of CARICOM as discussed in a virtual meeting of heads that took place earlier this week.  I do want to make clear, though, that I have never said that the opening of our borders will have to wait on a vaccine.  That is the stance of some countries, our ally Taiwan being one such.  It is not my position though.  While ultimately it depends on the National Oversight Committee and the Cabinet, my own view is this.  We must remember that the virus, in some countries, has a mortality rate that is as high as twelve percent.  Before we reopen, we therefore must look at the trajectory of the virus in North America as a whole and in the US in particular.  After all, the US is our biggest tourism market, responsible for over seventy-five percent of our tourism flows.  As long as the rates of infection in the US have not plateaued, we would best beware.  Also, we hope for, though not necessarily wait upon, an effective treatment for those that become critically ill after contracting the virus.  What of course would allow us to hurdle both the barriers I have just referred to is the availability of an effective rapid test.  The latter seems to be getting closer, hence my own reason for feeling that we could be good to go possibly by as early as July.”