Many tour operators have not been paying fees at Caves Branch
michael singh
The Belize Tourism Board, in light of the ongoing dispute among tour operators, has expressed a need for standards to be implemented which should level the playing field within the industry. This comes in the wake of assertions that there are tour operators that have not been paying fees for the use of NICH facilities at Caves Branch. The BTB today issued a press release stating that it is working closely with the Ministry of Tourism to expedite the passage of legislation that will require all tour operators to pay park fees at important cruise tourism sites. Among those sites is Caves Branch where some operators, including Bakabush Tours are foregoing the payment of fees because they have opted to enter the site through Jaguar Paw.
Mike Singh, CEO, Ministry of Tourism
“What NICH did is NICH went to the operators and said you know we’re going to declare this cave so that we are legally going to be allowed to charge like we do at the Maya sites and everywhere else. However, until that happens we will work out a private arrangement where we will charge the operators for use of our facilities, our parking, our bathrooms, the paths, the security, everything that NICH provides at the park. What that did is that meant that anybody not coming through that gate and not using those facilities really had no obligation to pay. Bakabush as well as many independent operators made an arrangement with Jaguar Paw to use their facility, enter the cave from that entrance which meant that they bypassed. NICH has no legal right to charge for that. We have spent the time to put that legislation in place. It was a very process because we had to declare lands, we are working at acquisition for public purpose and that’s a very drawn out process. That process has come to an end we have now completed the SI which will be signed by the minister this week and it will then compel anybody using the cave, no matter where they enter it from to pay a user fee or I should say an entrance fee to use the cave.”
The release goes on to say, quote – The legislation would directly address the need for a more fair and balanced system allowing all operators an opportunity to be equally successful. – unquote
There is no honor among thieves. Mr. Martin says he paid, Mr. Singh says that 2/3 of Bakabush is Belizean owned, last week it was 51%. They exploited Belizeans to show them how to abuse the system, the politicians gave them the key to the front door, their workers showed them which window was open so they can avoid paying rent. We still end up with 100% of nothing.
On the contrary BZNinCALI, 1/3 of Bakabush is Belizean owned. That’s already been established. You analogy of the workers showing them which window was open… cannot translate into us ending up with 100% of nothing. They still get paid so that money goes into the community.
I still believe that tourism should be open to all especially Belizeans. Standards should be set and we, the Belizean tour operators must meet those standards and given equal opportunities.
1/3 third own is no good argument. How about all the Belizean tour operators that are being squeezed out like Mr. Rosado and the rest?? They 100% Belizean owned.
Thanks Franxel.
Hooyah 1/3 is lees than 2/3, which means we do not have majority ownership & will be lucky if we are consulted, let alone allowed to share our opinion. National & State Parks in the US & Canada, as well as places that offer specialized tours like white water rafting, cave adventures in New Mexico, tram rides to Pikes Peak, Mt, Rushmore to name a few are no different in concept from our caves & our other natural resources & what they all have in common is that none of them are free to tourists. The person behind the ticket counter who sells the tickets, HAS A JOB, the person who checks & collects the tickets, HAS A JOB, if we camp overnight, the person who checks the sites & collects the payments, HAS A JOB, the person who cleans the toilets, HAS A JOB. Even if those jobs overlap, we are still creating jobs for our people. When we avoid paying for the privilege of using those facilities, we are taking jobs from Belizeans. The tourists are passing through, they don’t care. The same people who did not pay will be the first ones to complain when the toilets are filthy & poorly equipped. When we own & follow the rules, the country benefits, look at the big picture.