140 foreign travel agents will get an all expenses paid trip-to and stay-in Belize starting on September 12th and running through to the 17th. It's part of BETEX 2006, the bi-annual event where the tourism industry rolls out the red carpet for vendors who sell the Belize tourism product at travel agencies in Europe, the USA and Canada. The BTIA and the BTB are organizing, and the BTIA's Executive Director Andrew Godoy explained why selling their tourist product called Belize means business for everyone.
Andrew Godoy, Exec. Dir. - BTIA
"This is a show that all of us should be involved with. It promotes the country. We are looking at bringing in over a hundred and forty international travel professionals who actually go out there and sell Belize. And so we realize that tourism is one of the number one driving force in our economy today and these people are actually selling our country out there."
Jules Vasquez,
Does BETEX work?
Andrew Godoy,
"It works. One of the things we have always said, after the 2004 show, once you have a show like BETEX you have to do your follow-up and we try to sensitive the stakeholders and this is why we offer supplier seminars so that we can get them involved, get them in the tune of how you negotiate with these travel agents. Once they are here in country and you sit in front of them, you only have fifteen minutes to negotiate contracts and agreements with them. Once you have done so it doesn't end there. You have to follow up. You have to continue calling them to ensure that you create that relationship with them, that friendship, where you establish business linkages."
80 local supplier companies and 140 international trade and press delegates will attend. For the first year, the event will be opened to the public to encourage local tourism. That open session will be the afternoon of September 14th.
