Tourism stats continue to look good

While negotiations for Government and Carnival Corporation continue to seek compromise on the cruise port contract, the latest statistics indicate that both overnight and cruise tourism are going nowhere but up. According to a Belize Tourism Board release the number of overnight visitors arriving through all ports of entry is up three point three percent for the first nine months of the year with tourist arrivals at the Philip Goldson International Airport recording a healthy six point two percent increase for that same period. The month of September alone saw a rise of thirteen point six percent in arrivals at the PGIA compared to September 2003.

The cruise sector recorded even bigger numbers, with over six hundred and eleven thousand passengers arriving in Belize City harbour, an increase of almost sixty-eight percent over the same period in 2003.