Before the break, you heard us asking Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler about cruise ports, but we also asked him about the airport.
On any given weekend the Phillip Goldson is ram jammed - especially in the arrival hall.
Mahler says progress is being made by the management growth:
Jules Vasquez
"How much is the unsavory visitor experience at the PGIA? You know, people have to wait in long lines. It's not air conditioned all the way. Explain to me how much of a factor is that in trying to rapidly overhaul the product."
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
"Have you gone to Miami Airport on a Friday evening trying to get in when or get through?"
"So to me, you have to look at it soberly, right? There is a developmental plan that the management group says that they're going to execute. If you look at it, they did the new entry into the airport, they're building a new taxiway. They're doing some other upliftment to the the airport. But I travelled to a Caribbean island - the other day - and our airport is ten times better than their one. Not to make an excuse, because I've been critical of the airport. So much so that, we have sat with the board of directors for BACC on several occasions to really light some fire under them to get these investments going."
"I well, I think it is going to be, relatively close to the international airport. but there also needs to be an FBO investment as well, to ensure that we can accommodate private aircraft. So I think the last time I checked, we get somewhere between 12 and 1500 and private aircrafts annually. if you look at the numbers in the Bahamas, they get about 30,000."
"But Belize has not been on the radar. for private aircrafts from from a tourism standpoint, mainly people coming in on business and that type of thing. So I think that creates an opportunity for us as well. so I would support that idea."
Jules Vasquez
"Should it be a state owned asset?"
Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism
"These days a public private sector partnership. I think that is, a model that can work in this instance."
