Tonight, most families are preparing for their Christmas Eve dinner, or to wake up early tomorrow to open presents. But for those who work at Tourist Village, they know that Christmas means cruise ships will be in port.
But, tour operators and tour guides aren't feeling the cheer this year because they say for the past four months, cruise tourists have only been trickling in. And while their earnings are dwindling, the bills keep mounting.
So what makes this high season different from the others? Fewer ships and steeper competition that operators and guides outside of the Tourist Village just can't keep up with. Today, we went out there to speak with them, and Courtney Menzies can tell you why three ships won't be sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning:
It was the day before Christmas, when all through Tourist Village, barely anyone was stirring. That's because even though this is the tourism high season, tour operators and tour guides say that it's the slowest they've experienced.
John Pollard, President, Belize City Tour Operators And Workers Assoc.
"This Christmas and Boxing Day looks like the worst in my entire 21 year career of being a tour guide and also tour operator. From since last year, we have been waiting for a high season to come. It is now 2025 which supposed to have been the high season. We are still looking for when the high season is coming. it's not here as yet."
Jimmy Robinson, Tour Operator, Belize City Tour Operators And Workers Assoc.
"Over twenty years in this industry and it's the first time in many years that we have seen it like this. Last week for instance, we had three days, three ships and if we took home $20 or $30, we took a lot. It's depressing, we have families, we have bills to pay, most of us are renewing our tour operators license and right now some of our operators don't even have the money to renew, that's how sad the situation is."
And they say that even though the tourists aren't arriving in numbers like they used to, the bills don't stop, and it's dampening the Christmas cheer.
Courtney Menzies:
"Does that make it more difficult knowing you're giving up Christmas with your family and you're not going to get much?"
John Pollard, President, Belize City Tour Operators And Workers Assoc.
"It makes it a lot more difficult. tomorrow, two ships in the harbor, normally 3 years, 4 years, 5 years ago, when it is Christmas Day and you have work, you want to work. Now we're only going to come because this is our livelihood. For the others, they're in the offices. They have a salary, they make a salary, they collect two weeks, they collect every month, they have a salary. For us, this is our living. That train is one of our competitors out here. So we will see what it's going to be like come tomorrow and the new year. It is not promising to anyone because we have not been eating for the past four months out here at tourist village."
"That put a damper out here at tourist village for everybody, for the Christmas season, for the New Years season, for paying your school bills, for buying your groceries, for doing everything that you should be doing."
Wayne Humes, Tour Guide
"As a family person you know you have to stay on the grind. So even though it's a time of celebration for the birth of Christ, we still have to try to balance the two. So we come out here trying to make a little in the high season but the high season today is a little bit like the slow season. People are coming but they're not spending like time gone by."
Courtney Menzies:
"So do you think it's worth it to come out here even though there's less ships?"
Wayne Humes, Tour Guide
"Well there's a possibility, once you come, there's a possibility you might get something. It doesn't matter how many people come on that ship, it just matters how you talk to that person, if they trust you, they will go with you."
But it's not just Christmas - everyday these tour operators and tour guides fight to take home a little pocket money.
John Pollard, President, Belize City Tour Operators And Workers Assoc.
"Right now ships are here two or three times, four times for the week. We go home almost everyday without anything in our pockets out here."
"The ship is saying I am brining 3,000, that's the capacity. When the ship comes, it comes with 1,500 people, 1,500 personnel. The other one is saying 4,000, that will come with 2,000 personnel. And then most of those tours are booked tours already. For people on the outside here who hustles on the outside and waiting for the walk outs, it's difficult for them."
Jimmy Robinson, Tour Operator, Belize City Tour Operators And Workers Assoc.
"Really what we have been seeing recently, factors on the ship, some of the casinos on the ship stay open and that is a factor why a lot of the guests aren't coming off. we have negative publicity on the ships that don't come off because the guys are bad on the outside. then bad publicity in there at FSTV, don't go outside because those guys are going to rob you, it's not safe, and even the guests that we take on tour they would say that. And as you can see, we are licensed guides, we are licensed tour operators and it's so pathetic."
"We are hanging in there because we know that it is a lucrative business but at this point in time with all fairness, it's challenging."
And that's why, even with little hope, the tour operators and guides will still be out at tourist village early in the morning to welcome the two ships that are scheduled to come sailing in tomorrow. One ship is scheduled to make a call on Boxing Day.
The BTB has said that the only solution for Belize's cruise ship blues is a berthing facility - a 4 year, 400 million US dollar project which has been discussed but is not underway.
