Earlier in the news, you heard the Tourism Minister express his confidence in the overnight tourism sector being able to rebound, no matter what.
And cruise tourism is also on its way to where it was pre-COVID. According the Minister Mahler, by the end of this year, the numbers should be way up - but that means the proposed cruise ports are a priority.
He noted that Stakebank is a given, but added that the other two will have to get the clearance they need before they can move forward.
Hon. Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
"We're trending towards maybe 90%, the global cruise number will be trending towards 100%, it is important for us to truly get a docking facility and we're working with the stakeholders, the cruise lines have said to us because of the sizes that are being built that tendering is now feasible for them so the fast we get Stakebank on board, and if other ports are built, the better for us. My responsibility is for us to bring more ships in a sustainable way and to partner with the cruise lines to ensure that tours and other activities are sold here in the country. Belize is one of the leading tour destinations throughout this region."
"I'll leave the expert to provide the level of environmental clearance, we'll work with other government departments to do the economic feasibility of the projects and then we, like I've said, government is to create and enabling environment where private sector can thrive and that's what we want to do but each investor, each entity has to go through the necessary requirements to ensure that they can do their development."
"There is going to be a point whereby the larger ships will bypass Belize because they will not tender and you will see a decrease in the numbers. As we move forward, we may see a decrease in the numbers of calls, but we can see an increase in the number of arrivals. You have a ship that can hold 7,000 and so that is one call compared to two ships, three ships, coming in that may hold 2,500/3,000 and so there is a kind of shift in the industry moving towards those mega liners."
