Dionne Chamberlain Miranda is the new President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association. Miranda was chosen at BTIA’s Annual General Meeting held this morning at the Biltmore Hotel. But with two successive quarters of negative growth in tourism, Miranda and her Board of Directors won’t have any time to celebrate. Tourism arrivals are down and while it’s not a full-blown crisis, o rmaybe not yet – BTIA members are concerned. Miranda expects a boost from Belize’s prime placement on NBC’s “Today Show” earlier this week will help but won’t solve our problem. So what will? That’s what we asked.
Dionne Miranda, Newly Elected BTIA President
“Belize has some definite advantage over many of the other locations. If you notice it is around the world that there has been a decline, it is not only Belize. So what we’re doing right now, we’re actually along with the BTB there is a new marketing firm and we have identified one of the areas that we can compete in and by pushing our unique selling position that is how we’re actually going to get Belize out there.
We are known for our sustainability, our green environment which is what a lot of the visitors are expecting. You have to understand that there are people who are going to be suffering from this recession but there are also going to be the ones who aren’t really and we have to make sure that we attract that level. So that is what we’re going to be focusing on, targeted marketing, targeted promotions to the people who still have the money to spend.
We found out that there are still many parts of the United States of America who still don’t know that Belize exist. We’re still needing to understand that we need to rely on the North American market. Yes we’re trying to push into Europe but Canada is a very open market where we don’t have a lot of arrivals from and that is one area where the recession has hit but the effects aren’t as dramatic. So I think the thing we need to do is do more targeted marketing and ensure that we promote in the areas where there are going to be a captive audience.”
Keith Swift,
Are BTIA members concerned, frantic, what?
Dionne Miranda,
“As far as I know they are not frantic. I think they are concerned and they are hoping to see more bang for their advertising dollars which I think puts us in a better position because now they are more willing to collaborate a little bit more because they realize they can’t do it on their own. And one of the things that is very important is that we stop pushing individual properties and actually push the Belize name because the Belize name is what needs to get out there.”
Keith Swift,
What unique qualities do you think you bring to the BTIA?
Dionne Miranda,
“I am very heavy marketing background and I think my ability to push in that area will make a difference.”
Miranda replaces Rosella Zabaneh who served for two years. The other members on Miranda’s board are First Vice President Jim Scott, Second Vice President Catherine Paz, Secretary Valerie Woods, and Director Ian Lizarraga.
