BETEX ’98 shows off eco-cultural tourism
It’s the travel show’s third birthday and while this year’s edition is not as large as 1997, Arreini Palacio reports that BETEX ’98 is no less lovely than its predecessors.
Eye catching… isn’t it? And organizers of BETEX ’98 hope that this eco-cultural beauty will not only sparkle in the eyes of local beholders but shared with over fifty buyers from France to South Africa. Forty-eight booths lined the Biltmore Plaza for the two-day tourism expo, each displaying aspects of their hotel or tour operation that will be most appealing to the buyer. According to organizer Xinia Aguilar, these buyers are in for a treat.
Xinia Aguilar, Organizer, BETEX ’98
“As you can see they go from booth to booth and they say I need your rates. I am doing so many groups, and what can we work out in terms of special rates. What can we do in terms of chartered flights? So it’s basically a contact: here is my card, here is your card and that’s basically it.”
Once this contact is made, it is up to the suppliers to keep in touch with their clients.
Xinia Aguilar
“Some of the companies have benefited with BETEX, as with anything you have to follow up. I can come, I can get your business card but if I don’t follow up it does not work.”
When it works, BETEX does pay off.
Einer Gomez, Ramon’s Village
“Really what it has done is expose us to the country and to the rest of buyers everywhere.”
Guillermo Paz, Banyan Bay Resort
“Since we are a new property, BETEX is going to help us get promoted, help us get our name out there, you know.”
And getting their name out is what the show is all about. According to some buyers, marketing Belize as an eco-cultural destination is more than appropriate.
Kimberly Weidner, National Audubon Society, New York
“Our next issue for the National Audubon Magazine is on eco-tourism and we have a new editor who sees that our readers travel a lot so she is putting a lot of emphasis on it. I am sure that Belize will be mentioned more and more.”
James Brown, Saluke Travels, Illinois
“Our company has not done any eco tourism but I can see fishing packages, camping packages, diving packages. It’s something that has a lot of potential.”
Kimberly Weidner
“It’s very popular and the National Audubon Society is all about wilderness and outdoors and that makes it incredibly popular among people who were not interested in destinations like Belize. People are becoming more interested in eco-tourism; it is so popular in the United States.”
But BETEX has done more than expose international buyers to local suppliers in the tourism industry…
Sheila Nale, Mayan Princess Hotel
“It also gives us an opportunity to meet other hoteliers on the caye and it helps us to have a better attitude with each other so we can interchange our guests and see what’s out there in Belize.”
Todd Vickstrom, Soulshine Resort
“We have enjoyed it in many different ways. We have seen other people in the business and here we have hooked up with another resort that is inland: Black Rock. So now we are able to send people to other parts of Belize since it is so beautiful. We offer surf and turf. You go down to the surf for a few days and go inland and go horseback riding and caving. So BETEX has helped in that we have found other businesses.”
And all tourism businesses hope to benefit from BETEX ’98. Although there are less booths this year than last, the Belize Tourism Industry Association hopes that the expo will keep increasing numbers of visitors coming to enjoy the attractions of these shores. Arreini Palacio for News Five.
On Friday BETEX is open to the public. Admission is two dollars.
