B.T.I.A. elects new officers
It’s a pillar of Belize’s economy and today the people at the helm of the nation’s tourism industry met to talk shop and choose new leaders. Jacqueline Godwin reports.
Jacqueline Godwin, Reporting
Today, the new board of the Belize Tourism Industry Association was installed during B.T.I.A.?s twenty-first annual general meeting. Outgoing president Lucy Fleming says the past two years have been challenging but believes great strides have been made especially towards reducing the threat of crime and improving visitor security.
Lucy Fleming, Outgoing President, B.T.I.A.
?We have achieved a great relationship between the Belize Police Department and the Belize Defence Force. We can clearly now see instead of not pointing the finger saying you are not doing this right or you are not doing that correctly, by working together and joining forces we all become stronger setting barriers against crime, and I do believe that now we do have the crime issue in hand.?
Then there is the issue of the General Sales Tax and its effects on the tourism sector.
Lucy Fleming
?This is a grass roots tourism product that we have here, an unfair rating especially on those very, very small guest houses. You may be aware of the fact that we have approximately just under six hundred hotels, we have just under six thousand rooms and it is not too difficult to figure out that most of our hotels are ten rooms or under. Basically that does make up the majority of our grass roots and also nearly eighty percent of our hotels are one hundred percent Belizean owned.?
?We will be hearing back from the Prime Minister. We have been promised that there was a six month period where we would be reviewed. We are going back strong with good figures in hand and we trust that we will get a much fairer rating under the G.S.T.?
B.T.I.A. is the nation?s umbrella tourism organization, representing the interests of thousands of Belizeans. One person prepared to lead the large membership is the new president, Rosella Zabaneh, the owner of Blue Marlin Lodge and Bone Fish Hotel and Restaurant.
Rosella Zabaneh, New President, B.T.I.A.
?It?s something that I have been doing and dedicating my life to for fifteen years. I have always been a part of the executive board and every month you?ve got to be at meetings. I am happy to see the growth of tourism in our country to where it is right and I will continue to work.?
Zabaneh says as she looks forward to serving her two year term there are two critical areas of concern: cruise tourism and taxation.
Rosella Zabaneh
?We?ve got to look at what we do when it comes to tax and what the government does when it comes to tax in this industry. It is a very fragile industry. We cannot price ourselves out of the industry on a hold. There are a lot of people who depend on this industry. This industry is not only for the rich or the middle class it is an industry that gives fruit to everyone even the poor.?
?Well when it comes to cruise tourism, I think its something that will not go away. As long as we can work together and protect what it is that we have for future generations to enjoy. I think that cruise tourism on a smaller scale will work very well for Belize.?
Other new board members include B.T.I.A.’s first vice president Hannah Cowell, second vice president Martha Williams, Treasurer Pedro Perez, Secretary Dionne Chamberlain-Miranda and Director Jim Scott.
