B.T.I.A. Launches 20th Edition of Destination Belize

The Belize Tourism Industry Association launched the twentieth edition of the Destination Belize magazine. The publication’s theme ‘Find our Roots, Feel (Y)our Rhythms’ celebrates Belize’s cultural heritage. The covers were revealed today at a ceremony in Belize City. They’ve complemented the print publication with an online presence, as well as a Spanish version of the magazine. Chief Editor on the project, Lebawit Lily Girma, shared more about what they hope this edition will do for tourism in Belize.

Lebawit Lily Girma

Lebawit Lily Girma, Chief Editor, Destination Belize

“Our theme was roots and rhythms. It was very quick to decide on that because we felt like Belize hadn’t been represented the way that we wanted. The things that make Belize so unique are the cultures and the rhythms and everything ties into that, which also means the people. Yes, people talk about the Maya, the Garinagu, but we have so many more groups. We have the Indians, the Mennonites, the Chinese and many others. So, we wanted to be inclusive and we wanted people to be intrigued. We wanted readers to open the magazine and say I didn’t really didn’t know that about Belize and quickly distinguish us from the rest of the region. And so through-out this issue we wanted our visitors and our readers to know about our Belizean heroes of all ages; the ones standing up for Belize’s cultural and natural wealth. We wanted our visitors know that yes we have drums but we also have the marimba which is being modernized; and we have the steel pan which is really exciting.”