Rumble in the BTB…

Looking at the travel and tourism industry in Belize today, one would never know that it is one of the most important pillars in the Belizean economy. There is a complete lack of focus and vision being exhibited by the people who are running this very important industry today. When the PUP took over the management of the people’s affairs in 1998, tourism was generating just over a $100 million dollars. However, when the PUP left office in 2008, the industry had ballooned to over $600 million dollars, a remarkable feat in just 10 years. The hard work by the PUP to build up the industry has all been eroded in just less than 2 years by this UDP government.

Today the tourism in Belize is going through one of its worst periods since the industry started up in the sixties. Unofficial reports are that the tourism industry in Belize is facing double digit declines in revenues and arrivals. When you talk to tourism stakeholders today, one thing is repeated over and over: ‘the industry is in disarray.” To make matter worse, there is an ongoing battle raging between the unofficial Minister, Mike Singh and the Legal Minister, Hon. Manuel Heredia. Information coming to this newspaper is that the fight between Mike Singh and Minister Heredia ended up at the Prime Minister’s doorsteps this week. This occurred after the Board of Directors for the Belize Tourism Board unanimously agreed not to renew Tracy Panton’s contract as Director of Tourism.

According to people close to the BTB action, Minister Heredia does not want Mike Singh to be the CEO in the Ministry of Tourism and blames Singh along with Santino Castillo for orchestrating the move to get rid of Panton. This long standing dispute between the tourism heavyweights is now wide open for everyone to see and it is all about Tracy Panton. Word coming out of the BTB is that the Minister has gone to bat for Panton because she ‘treats him like a king and pampers to his every whim,’ but longtime employees are claiming that the job requires somebody with higher qualifications than just brown-nosing. In fact, a source told the newspaper, there are no tears being shed for Panton by the majority of employees.

Tourism in Belize needs a new BLUEPRINT, one that will take the industry forward and that will provide growth and diversification in a responsible manner. It is obvious from the lack of vision coming out of the BTB that Laura Esquivel, Lindsay Garbutt and Anthony Hunt are not up to the task. There is a need to devise a comprehensive marketing strategy for tourism and not just an advertising one. There is need to improve the infrastructure that is needed for the private sector to succeed. There is need for a hotel development strategy which would aide investors who are serious about putting their money into Belize. The industry cannot continue to operate with a national occupancy that hovers around 30 percent. There is also a need for a renewed effort to train our people. We all know that service in Belize needs major improvement.

Finally there is a need for an incentives program that would reward those people who are serious about conducting their business in a responsible manner. If the people who are running the tourism industry today do not realize that there is a plethora of destinations that are cheaper, have better service and have better infrastructure, then Belize is up the proverbial creek without a paddle. Belize has all the natural assets needed to turn Belize into an even more remarkable tourist destination. The problem lies with those at the helm of the industry.

There is a saying in Belize: Every fowl has its Sunday!!! Well this Monday after the decision was made on Sunday, one of the most conniving and devious fowls in the pen got her day. Let’s see where this fowl ends up, maybe PACT this time? Or with a lucrative consultancy maybe? Who knows, only time will tell?

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