Rub-A-Dub-Dub

Three a Dem in a Cruise Tub: BTB focuses only on CRUISE

The new Director of Tourism has been very busy flying out of country, conducting a lot of meetings.  One would want to think that perhaps BTB is now focusing on the more sustainable overnight tourism to finally have a plan for this for the long haul.  Don’t get too excited.

One of the first visits BTB engaged in was a visit with FCCA, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, to discuss Belize hosting the 2011 Platinum Cruise Tourism Conference.  The country who hosts has to fit the bill and pay for all the expenses which will run well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. (Platinum membership in FCCA alone costs US$25,000 annually.)

Then, the two year Action Plan that Ms. Matus has developed has BTB focusing on Destination Planning, with Belize City focused on the cruise zone in the Fort George area and the next focus is for the BTB to provide “effective leadership in preparing the Placencia citizenry to manage a sustainable cruise port destination there”.   The plan states: “The government is on the verge of authorizing a new cruise port there”.

There has been very vocal and growing opposition to the proposal to have cruise tourism in Placencia. Stuart Krohn, a developer and resort operator along the Placencia Peninsula, in an eloquent piece published in one of the newspaper this week opined: “Expert after expert has told us that Belize’s future lies in eco and high end tourism. We know that cruise tourism is the opposite of high end ecotourism. So why is our government trying to foist the curse of cruise tourism on us?”

Then in the past week alone, the CEO, the Director and the BTB Board have been focused on mediating talks between Chukka Caribbean and FECTAB.

At BTB, it’s all about cruise.  So if you are involved in overnight tourism, “Dawg wah eat yuh suppa”!

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