S.I. signed to regulate tour boats

Today Minister Mark Espat, in conjunction with the Belize Tourism Board signed into law a statutory instrument to regulate water taxis and pleasure boats. The move is part of an effort to improve the quality of Belize’s tourism product.

Ramon Cervantes, Water Taxi Association

“Through this S.I. we’ll be able to regulate the operation of the water taxi’s even more. We’ll be able to call for higher standards of watercrafts, bigger crafts and a more training for the operators of these water crafts.”

Mark Espat, Minister of Tourism

“The S.I. provides for the vessels to be registered with the Belize Tourism Board and for a committee to oversee the licensing and registration. The committee will be made up of representatives from The Belize Tourism Industry Association, BTIA, from the local Water Taxi Association and from the public sector, from the Ministry of Tourism and the BTB. And of course the committee will prescribe the conditions for licensing, such has the safety standards that the vessels will have to adhere to the standards of service they will have to offer.”

Ramon Cervantes

“A very important part of this S.I. is that all of these watercrafts will have to be licensed and they will also have to carry an insurance for passenger liability to cover the passengers and insurance for damage to a third party. Even though we have only had about two accidents over the past ten or twelve years, nevertheless from here on, if there is an accident and a passenger gets injured, then the insurance company carrying the third passenger liability will have to step in. This is great news for the passengers and for us too.”