Berthing, The Future of Cruise Tourism in Belize

To thrive in the future of cruise tourism, Belize’s cruise industry is in need of berthing facilities. Royal Caribbean, one of Belize’s partners in the industry, recently announced that its largest cruise vessel to date, Utopia of the Seas, will be launched in two years. In the absence of a berthing facility, Belize will be unable to facilitate the approach and mooring of these huge vessels. This will lead to significant losses in revenue for the local industry, says Tillett, who spoke on the importance of today’s workshop as a medium for highlighting this great need.

Evan Tillett

Evan Tillett, Director, Belize Tourism Board

“I think that one thing we do within tourism is that sustainability is the underpinning of every single thing we do. We have one cruise port currently being built. There is brick and mortar in the ground, investment in the ground. The others are in the pipeline. At the end of today, I think that the need for a berthing facility is huge, because if we don’t get a berthing facility, with the bigger ships that are being built, they will bypass Belize and we will start to lose numbers in the cruise tourism industry and we cannot have that, because the cruise tourism sector provides a lot of socioeconomic benefits for a lot of people. It creates a lot of entrepreneurs, for the hair braiders, tour operators, tour guides. So, it creates a meaningful way to earn a decent living. So, it is very important. I think this is an all inclusive process. They still represent and have interest within the cruise tourism sector. I cannot give you the answer in terms of which ones will come to fruition, but at the end of the day the decision will be made by the Government of Belize and the underpinning of that decision will also be about sustainability.”