2005 was a difficult year for Belize's fledgling tourism industry. There was civil unrest in the early part of the year, we were under the constant threat of hurricanes during the summer months, and the year was capped off by a string of misfortunes with 5 tourists dying on vacation in Belize, at least two of them under either reckless or negligent circumstances. But with all that battering, the tourism industry still brought in over $200 million. That's major bacon and today at the annual industry presentation, the major players got a chance to boast, while those that will get played by the GST had a chance to complain. It was a mixed bag and Keith Swift got a sampling of both flavors.
Keith Swift Reporting,
This morning a broad cross section of tourism industry stakeholders and industry purveyors gathered inside the king's room at the princess. There were famous faces and a fancy floor-to-ceiling multimedia projector. All this was for the industry to give itself another gratuitous pat on the back for a job well done in 2005.
Indeed, yet again, tourism broke records. Hotel revenues accounted for $103 million; there was a 7% jump in arrivals through the airport while more than 800,000 visitors came via a cruise ship. The news was good and Prime minister Said Musa, who delivered the keynote address, says it can only get better. This as he pledged to make tourism priority number one.
Rt. Hon. Said Musa,
"Over the past year the performance of the tourism industry in Belize has been stable and sound. I therefore sincerely congratulate and thank all stakeholders for another successful year for tourism in Belize. The campaign to make tourism a national priority must begin now in the schools, in the classrooms, in government departments, in the media houses, and in the private sector-all across Belize. For tourism the future is now and we should all be proud of it."
But as the industry celebrated 2005 - some in the accommodation sector are apprehensive about 2006. In July the GST comes in to effect and as the law states that hotels will not be zero-rated. That means hoteliers will have to pay the GST out of their own pockets, without ever getting a refund. President of the Tourism Industry Association Lucy Fleming says that's just unacceptable.
Lucy Fleming, BTIA President
"What we're looking for is a Zero-rating under the GST and tourism, which as you know is an expert market be treated as an export market. So just as with all the other export markets, we be given that same rating which help us to grow our industry."
Rt. Hon. Said Musa,
"We recognize that the hotel sector has concerns over certain aspects of the impending General Sales Tax. I have asked the Minister of Tourism, acting in concert with the BTB, to review regional models and to continue the consultations with the sectors."
Lucy Fleming,
"What we clearly heard today from the Prime Minister gave me certainly, and I think other people in the audience got a real sense of confidence when the Prime Minister said to us, 'yes tourism is our number one industry, yes tourism is an export industry.' That gave me the confidence that government is open to reviewing the taxing area that we have been placed under, the exempt rating of GST. The problem as you know also with the exempt rating of the GST is that not only are we non-competitive with our other sectors within the country because we won't get tax credits, we will become increasingly non-competitive regionally and internationally."
And with or without the GST, Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Vince Vanderpool-Wallace, says Belize should be selling Belize " the experience" and not just Belize "the destination."
Vince Vanderpool-Wallace, CTO Sec. Gen.
A brand is very simply a reputation. It's a reputation for the consistent delivery of a product or service at or above the level of expectations to customer. It is a fancy word that means nothing more than what your reputation is. What does your reputation come from? Its the experience stupid."
Its of note that 70% of BTB's budget comes from the accommodation sector. The BTB budgets to spend ten million dollars in the next fiscal year and more than half of that will go to advertising and public relations.
