As we noted earlier, in just one week six people were killed Cayo. And today there is the growing concern that this may affect tourism. We spoke to some residents about this very real but foreboding possibility.
Sarah Strand, Villager
“It will greatly affect the tourism industry because tourists will feel afraid to come to Belize and so far people will lose their jobs and there will be a high of unemployment in Belize…if it continues.”
Icela Tzib, Villager
“I do work at a resort in the Pine Ridge and it really does affect because like the people from abroad, they are not going to want to come to…if they hear that there is a lot of crime happening in Belize, they are not going to want to Belize anymore.”
Giovanni Montalban, Village Chairman
“It will affect the villagers, it will affect tourism and other places around because when tourists hear about those things they usually cut off for a while and it would affect a lot of workers because the majority of people here in this village work for a tourism place. Chaa Creek has a lot of workers here, we have Duplooy’s, and we have other places that are just starting construction and that are employing a lot of villagers too and we would like to see if the government could put more pressure and stop these things.”
Sgt. Enrique Aldana, San Ignacio Police
“We are very concerned about what is happening here in the Cayo District. This is a tourist environment. This morning we had a meeting with the whole staff of San Ignacio Police. We are trying to put something in place to patrol the remote areas. But prior to that they had Dragon Unit and BDF doing mobile patrols in these areas.”
In mid-2006, at the height of the bandit assaults in western Belize, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Belize. It was lifted in January of 2007.
