B.T.B. seeks new branding, more focussed marketing
It’s Belize’s largest single industry, biggest foreign exchange earner and foremost employer … so when the government body in charge of tourism speaks, we better listen. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports on the latest plans announced by the B.T.B.
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
This morning the Belize Tourism Board hosted its ninth annual industry presentation to a packed room at the Princess Hotel.
Tracy Taegar Panton, Director, B.T.B.
“My task this morning is to provide a brief synopsis of the board’s approved budget and work plan for 2007-2008 and to highlight a few of the major new initiatives that will be undertaken throughout the year.”
In the 2005/2006 financial year B.T.B. collected thirteen point two million dollars in revenues, a jump of over fifty percent over 2005. They are estimating that figure to remain steady for 2007-2008.
Tracy Taegar Panton
“This year the B.T.B. revenue projections are estimated at thirteen million dollars. Of this amount, eighty-five percent will be sourced from hotel taxes and assessments, eleven percent from cruise passenger head taxes and collections from live aboard vessels and four percent from other revenue outlets which include tour guide and tour operators licensing fees, retirement fees and the sale of general merchandise and paraphernalia.”
Half of those future revenues will be used for international marketing and public relations. The remainder will go into product development, administrative costs, and capital expenditure.
Tracy Taegar Panton
“Funds have been set aside to support marketing campaigns in Central America, Canada and Europe. The potential of Central America is virtually untapped and offers an important opportunity for the industry to build its customer base and expand its reach. On the other hand Canadian travel increased by fourteen point five percent last year and is considered Belize’s fastest growing market. Notably, since 1998, European travel has increased by thirty-four point one percent. With the airport expansion project nearing completion, Europe represents an opportunity for us to realise exponential growth in overnight arrivals.”
And while the airport expansion should increase the number of visitors from Europe, the biggest undertaking for the B.T.B. is the re-branding of the country.
Godfrey Smith, Minister of Tourism
“I believe that we have reached a point where yes we are posting growth, but we seem unable to reach the occupancy levels we want. Isn’t it time that we engage in a self-examination as a country, as an industry, to examine what we have been doing, to review what we have been doing, to examine the methodologies that might have been engaged in identifying what we are as destination and where we want to go?”
Tracy Taegar Panton
“It’s very important to brand Belize because it helps us to define our unique selling proposition, it helps to incorporate all the diversity of Belize into one singular image and direction and we think the time has come that we need to take it to the next level and to play with the real boys.”
Assisting the B.T.B. to take it to the next level is the New York-based global strategy and design consultancy firm, Future Brand. According to Steven Makadok, a country’s brand involves logo, colours and just about everything involving Belize’s image.
Steven Makadok, Consultant, Future Brand
“Really, at the end of the day what we are trying to do is understand what are the unique values that Belize brings to the market place, what is it that the external market wants and how do you differentiate yourself from key competitors and it’s really the intersection of all of those different points that form the idea for a value proposition.”
“We help our clients maintain brand consistency through visual identity guidelines so we will provide tools at the end of the day that each of you will be able to tap into and use, templates so that everybody is operating from a common language and a common look and feel.”
Tracy Taegar Panton
“The process is going to be very participatory. We are going to start with a blank sheet of paper and we’re going to engage all stakeholders whether you are directly or indirectly involved in tourism to get a feel and an understanding of how we view ourselves, how do stakeholders view ourselves, what do they think we should be promoting, what aspects of Belize we want to share with the rest of the world and then we are going to take it from there. I believe at the end of the day we have done a pretty good job in the first eight years, but it’s really time to reinvent ourselves and to stay on the cutting edge.”
Steven Makadok
“I think getting buy in from the tourism board and from other industry stakeholders, making them feel like they have a part in the process, that there’s ownership, that we are not pushing this on them, that we are trying to include a lot of people and participating in this I think that’s critical.”
“It’s going to be about a nine to twelve month process initially through the research, the development of the strategy, the visual identity system and then the training.”
As part of the ceremony, this morning the B.T.B. unveiled plans for its new headquarters on Regent Street. The building will be dedicated in honour of tourism pioneer Jean Shaw and is slated for completion at the end of May. They also officially launched their website: www.belizetourism.org. Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
Although the general mood of the industry is upbeat there are still major hurdles to overcome, including the two competing cruise ports in Belize City and the question of whether ecotourism will remain the focus of the country’s tourism product in deed and not just in name.
