Tourist arrivals on the increase

We hear it over and over again: tourism means dollars for the economy. Today the Belize Tourist Board has released its third quarter statistics and the news is good once again. According to the B.T.B., for the third straight quarter arrivals are up and the increase is the largest in three years. From July to September

nineteen thousand, seven hundred and sixty-six tourists arrived by air at the Philip S.W. Goldson International Airport which is an increase from the seventeen thousand, nine in the same period last year. This sixteen point two percent increase for this quarter follows a twenty-two point nine percent increase in the second quarter. According to B.T.B. these visitors represent a five percent growth in hotel room revenue over last year. The final quarter for 1998 may not of course be as encouraging given the near arrival of a most unwanted guest Hurricane Mitch.