There is a sign of relief in the tourism industry. A travel advisory issued by the United States immediately following the slaughtering of four George Street gang affiliates has been lifted. A release rescinding the January eighth advisory, says that while police and defense forces continue to maintain an increased presence in parts of the […]
While overnight visitor arrivals are up, cruise tourism suffered a ten percent decrease in 2012. A recent announcement by Carnival Cruise Line to cancel ten calls in 2013 will impact cruise arrivals, but the B.T.B. is optimistic, saying it expects that this year will hold its own. Director of Tourism, Laura Esquivel-Frampton says they are […]
According to the Belize Tourism Board, arrivals peaked last year with record numbers of visitors. But to start the year and in the height of the high season, one of the biggest cruise lines, Carnival Cruise line has cancelled ten stops in Belize for 2013, starting as early as this week. That can have a […]
Two stops by the Carnival Legend, which carries two thousand, one hundred and twenty-four passengers, were canceled; one this week and one in December. The other eight calls being cancelled in the coming months are for the Carnival Glory; a two thousand, nine hundred and seventy-four passenger ship. If you do the math, that’s twenty-eight […]
A formal inspection of a fleet of nine buses, belonging to Godwin Haylock Senior, concluded this morning at the Novelos Bus Terminal, following a brief suspension in the wake of a near-fatal traffic mishap on October thirty-first. The incident, which almost claimed the life of nine year-old Martin Noble, a primary school student, who was […]
The Belize Tourism Board is reporting that tourism arrivals are on an upward trend. For the month of September, the B.T.B. says that tourist arrivals at the Philip Goldson International Airport were up by a whopping thirty point two percent from last year. And according to B.T.B., for the first time in the last ten […]
Chukka Belize has won a prestigious award from a major cruise line. According to a release from the tour operator, Princess Cruises has named its Jungle Zipline Adventure and Cave Tubing tour as the 2011-2012 “Tour of the Season” in Belize. Princess Cruises has been giving annual awards to operators in its ports of call […]
The numbers for over-night tourist arrivals in the Jewel continue to break records and have surpassed that of 2011. We don’t know if it’s because of the “Heads in Beds” campaign, but the Belize Tourism Board released its annual tourism report that shows a significant seven point four percent boost over 2011’s over-night arrivals. Notably, […]
Although Belize has designated border crossings, the processing of visitors and nationals can sometimes lag. To speed up the process and to make it efficient, the western and northern border as well as the international airport will be experiencing an upgrade in their management systems. Passports will be read electronically which will allow easy compilation […]
The Belize Tourism Industry Association is staging its biggest show for the year, hoping to grow tourism numbers. The event has attracted international travel agents and writers, who attended a marketplace day at the Princess Hotel today. New and established tourism stakeholders are taking the opportunity to network and promote the Belizean product. News Five’s […]
There is some other good news to report tonight that places Belize among world class tourism destinations. CNN International is citing the Blue Hole among the top dive sites in the world. The folks at the Belize Tourism Board say that the famous Blue Hole is being recognized as the seventh best dive spot among […]
This morning, Ambassador of Mexico to Belize, Mario Velasquez, hosted the media at a breakfast at the Institute of Mexico. After he engaged the journalists in a discussion about current events, including elections and the UNIBAM case, Velasquez fielded questions from the media. We asked him for an update on the issue of Belizean buses […]
We’ve heard about the plan to introduce medical tourism and tonight two major resorts are looking to develop the less controversial health and wellness tourism. Stakeholders in tourism feel that the Jewel has more than sea, sand and sun to offer and that a healthy lifestyle could attract many more visitors to Belize. News Five’s […]
Tourism is one of the top foreign exchange earners for Belize’s economy. This year the industry remained steady in overnight visitors but in cruise ship, the figures have been going down for a number of reasons including the protracted dispute months ago over tenders. Today, stakeholders sat down to discuss the current state of affairs […]
And since there wasn’t much bad news to report at today’s AGM, the focus was on the new marketing strategy… telling the story of Belize’s cultures and attractions through as many mediums as possible, drawing in prospective visitors from across the globe. But while they try to share the positives, Jim Scott says there’s one […]
AMR Eagle Holding Corporation announced earlier today that the company and its subsidiaries including American Eagle and American Airlines (A.A.) filed voluntary petitions for Chapter eleven reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The news coincides with a change of the CEO of the Board of Directors of AMR […]
The 2012 edition of Destination Belize was unveiled today. It features Belize as the home of the great Maya civilization and the second largest barrier reef in the world. The Belize Tourism Industry Association publishes the annual and free official visitor’s magazine to increase Belize’s viability as a top destination. Published by Idea Lab Studios, […]
It’s now official, after successful trial runs the Mexican bus company, ADO, has launched its services from Belize City to Cancun and Merida. ADO promises comfortable travel at affordable prices. Busses are scheduled to leave Belize City nightly after the last run by Belizean operators to avoid conflict with local stakeholders. The Mexican bus company […]
International Living, an online and print magazine, has completed its latest special on Belize, which was compiled by Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins. The two I.L. editors, have been coming to the Jewel for over twenty years, but their last two-week visit, gave them a more in-depth look at what the country has to offer. […]
The Ministry of Transport is implementing a new regulation in respected of tinted vehicle windows, beginning June first. That ministry is also putting in place new bus routes to come on line in the northern zone, effective May first. The routes would have been implemented in 2009, but the now defunct National Transport Limited had […]
Traditionally, the high season in the tourism industry, is well underway at this time of the year. But it has had a disappointing start so far. At the Fort Street Tourism Village, a large number of traders are looking for business among the low number of visitors, even though a cruise ship called on port […]
An unusual charge is before the courts against Joseph Meighan, the owner of JB Security and two of his employees. Darrel Brooks and Jeremy Morgan were initially charged in September for Acting as Security Guards without Licenses while Meighan was charged with Employing Persons without Licenses. They were all released on bail for those charges […]
Later in the newscast we will cover the devastation to the citrus industry and the millions of dollars it stands to lose from the ravages of Hurricane Richard. There’s another industry, a key player in the economy, that’s the tourism industry that is also feeling the impact of the hurricane. Tonight we can confirm that […]
Hurricane Richard interrupted our coverage of other major developments such as the controversial proposal to introduce a cruise ship development port in the Placencia peninsula. As we reported in Tuesday’s newscast, the BTB sponsored a public consultation last Friday but interestingly, the consultation to determine if Placencia wanted a cruise port was held one day […]
The introduction of cruise tourism to Placencia Village and its surrounding communities is business residents of southern Belize are strongly against. The main concern down south is that the quiet and tranquility of the peninsula would be lost to mass tourism. If the plan proceeds, Placencia would become the second major hub within the country […]
