Tourism Industry Taking a Blow Due to COVID-19

Manuel Heredia Jr.

Tourism based economies are taking a blow from the COVID-19 disease which has spread across the world. It is no exception in Belize as thousands of people who depend on the sector are being impacted. In the hotel industry, fifteen thousand people have been caught as hotel cancellations leave rooms without guests.  Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Junior says that the twenty-five million dollar stimulus package for the tourism industry is not enough.

Manuel Heredia Jr., Minister of Tourism

“The tourism industry is the hardest hit and that there is a package was there. But it will take two to three weeks before anything will be released from the first part of it. I must say that the hoteliers, just the hotel industry itself, directly the hotels according to figures it is a little more than fifteen thousand that are affected from these hotels. There are two thousand five hundred plus tour guides and tour operators. You will find out that the airlines are also part of this tourism industry. So it might sound, twenty five million dollars might sound a lot but we have to understand that by the time you start to divide it is not enough. As much as you have it will never be enough.”