B.T.B.’s Enforcement Desk Does Countrywide Checks to Ensure Safety

While tour operators and their guides have their own individual safety protocols in place, how does the Belize Tourism Board ensure that they follow these protocols to the nearest letter? It’s a difficult task, Castaneda says, but they try to hold these tour companies to what they said they’d do. Currently under investigation, as well, is an incident that occurred only a few weeks ago in Bermudian Landing, when eight-year-old Stefan Keryan, a resident of Denver, Colorado was hurled off a horse he was riding as part of a family tour. The child’s saddle somehow flipped and he was dragged down a trail at the location. Castaneda said that the incident involving Stefan is still under investigation and explained that the B.T.B’s Enforcement Desk has a long list of tour visits that they check on throughout the year, but they also hold tour companies to the high standards they are obliged to keep.

Abil Castaneda

Abil Castaneda, Dir., Quality Management, Capacity Development, Cruise, B.T.B.

“We do have an enforcement desk here at the B.T.B., however it can’t be everywhere, right. So we do enforcement checks in San Pedro, in Caye Caulker; this year we’ve had over – I believe over a hundred enforcement visits that we have done countrywide. But again we cannot be in every single place, and in this case, this was a private operation that was being done. This was in the Caves Branch area. So that’s why we implore our tour operators when they come and register and license with us, we implore them, look, the responsibility that you have is very high, and I would say the majority of them understand that. They have to have a high level of insurance so that they’re covered in terms of these types of incidences, and we ensure that they have the requisite equipment to be able to manage the type of tours that they are registered for. Now in the past there’ve been some tour operators that, I must say, when they get a tour operator license, they feel they can do any tour, but the reality is that the tour operator license is linked to only the type of tours that you’re registered (for) because those are the tours that the B.T.B and the tour operator committee are very satisfied that you’re trained and that you are equipped to be able to carry out that tour. So that’s why this process that is being taken now to kinda do an investigation here at the B.T.B. in terms of whether or not there were any discrepancies in the way that the tour was being done is being carried out, and then we will have some results that that will be taken to the Tour Operator Licensing Committee, which has at the end of the day, the final recommendation powers on what to do, if there will be any sort of sanctions or any sort of reprimand.”

Marion Ali

“Against who would that be?”

Abil Castaneda

“Against the tour operator in this case, if that is what is found.”