The Belize Tourism Board today held its 7th Annual Industry Presentation. The occasion is set aside every year for the Belize Tourism Board to showcase the state of the industry to stakeholders and to project the board's plans for the upcoming year. And there is a lot to talk about: figures cited this morning show that the tourism industry brought in 16% of the country's GDP or $172 million last year. But while these figures speak for themselves, in addressing the gathering Minister of Tourism Godfrey Smith stated that there is still much to be done with the industry.
Godfrey Smith, Minister of Tourism
"While we were able to show growth both in overnight stays and cruise visitors, new hotel developments and infrastructure, record numbers of people trained, and continued exposure particularly in the North America market, there is much more to do. There is still room for improved management, the potential for better managed growth, the need for new focus and resources put to product development, and the need for the integration and incorporation of communities and our local culture into our tourism product. These are matters which we hope to address during the course of this new fiscal year. Three critical areas which must be focused on during this new fiscal year are the development and implementation of a national tourism policy, getting the right balance as previously referred adverted to between cruise tourism and overnight tourism, and the incorporation and promotion of our local culture into the tourism product. Obviously all of these are product development issues. If tourism is for all of us, if we are to be a part of the tourism future, then we must do our part to ensure that all work continues to encourage and promote a product for all of us that is open` for all us."
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited for the internet by Keith Swift