Emily meant a week without cruise ships

Belize may have dodged a bullet with Hurricane Emily, but the storm was not without impact on Belize’s economy. We’re talking cruise ships, or rather, their absence. According to the manager of the Fort Street Tourism Village, James Nisbet, five vessels cancelled their visits this week due to the presence of Emily working its way across the Caribbean. But he says things are expected to return to normal next week with the Carnival “Valor” scheduled to arrive Tuesday followed by the usual stream of vessels. We were not able to get estimates of dollar losses from the cancellations, but the pinch was felt by everyone from tour guides to hair braiders. The temporary suspension of cruise ships due to circumstances beyond Belize’s control is the only blight on an otherwise positive outlook for the industry. The Belize Tourism Board is reporting that between January and May of this year two hundred and eighteen ships stopped in Belize, bringing a combined total of over four hundred and thirty thousand passengers. This is a ten percent increase over the same period last year. In terms of non-cruise arrivals, B.T.B. reports an increase of visitors at all border points of four percent, with Philip Goldson International Airport chalking up a nine point two percent increase over the same five-month period in 2004. Projections from the U.S. Travel Industry Association’s Summer Travel Forecast indicate that Americans will be travelling in record numbers in June, July, and August. The B.T.B. believes this will be beneficial to Belize since U.S. citizens make up the greatest percentage of visitors to Belize, accounting for almost seventy-seven percent of those arriving at the P.G.I.A.