B.T.B. Official: C.D.C.’s Classification of Belize As “High Risk” Destination Is Reality

Abil Castaneda

As we reported on Thursday, Belize has been classified as a “high” risk category destination for travelers by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The classification for Belize came along with five other countries to Level Three or high risk for Covid-19. The “Level Three Covid-19 High” category applies to countries that have had more than one hundred cases per hundred thousand residents in the past twenty-eight days. Today, News Five checked in with the Belize Tourism Board’s Director of Cruise, Quality Management and Capacity Development, Abil Castaneda to find out how this can potentially affect Belize’s primary income earner.

Abil Castaneda, Director of Cruise, Quality Management and Capacity Development

“It’s part of the ongoing realities we face still being in a pandemic. If you recall, I think it was in April that we were reduced to level two, at that time because our cases were very low. So just to understand, this high risk level is somewhat of an advisory that the US C.D.C. provides to anybody that’s thinking about traveling out of the U.S. Every other major destination in our region, stemming from Costa Rica to Brazil, Barbados, all of them are within the level three status. So this is a part of our market reality now that we have to face so what we do at the B.T.B. is continue to push these strategic marketing campaigns, as the recent announcement of Belize being featured on Sports Illustrated. That is going to multiply significantly in terms of getting visitations.”