Minister Heredia Explains Drop in 2015 Tourist Arrivals

Late last week, the Belize Tourism Board issued the figures for tourist arrivals for the period of January to July of 2015. When compared to last year, the report says that there has been an increase of one point six percent in June and three percent in July for overnight arrivals  to the Jewel; an overall zero point two percent improvement was also seen in cruise passenger arrivals for both months. But while the figures improved in the summer months, there is a zero point eight percent drop in cumulative arrivals through the first seven months of 2015. This, says the report, was partially attributed to the consistent decreases in the number of overnight visitors from the Canadian market. Still yet, the B.T.B. is projecting that 2015 will surpass the overnight arrival numbers over 2014. Today, News Five asked Minister Heredia to crunch the numbers.

Manuel Heredia Jr.

Manuel Heredia Jr., Minister of Tourism

“Yes indeed, there is no doubt. That is around the world…it is something that happens. The year before was an extremely exceptional year that not even the hoteliers and B.T.B. expected that year to be that much and usually you will find that it will not be easy to repeat that same figure the following year. But yet when you look at the World Tourism Organization, speaking to them, they will tell you that if you can even maintain the figures that were there the previous year, you are doing good. And in Belize, if I am not mistaken, the overall from January to July was point zero-eight of a percent only that the difference between one year and the other. I believe that even though there are little factors, one that I can say and you mentioned that privately a while ago, the sargassum has been a minimal part of that one because our beaches for almost two years has been practically twenty-five, thirty feet wide…the beaches of Belize with that sargassum. When it comes to crime, we are very fortunate and lucky that it has been very minimal when it comes to the tourism industry. We are very lucky and hence the reason for trying to support the police to ensure that no tourist is hurt, no tourist is assaulted because that can really hurt the industry.”