Belize Named One of 2015's Top Destinations after Banner Year in 2014
Because 2014 was one of the Belize's best years for tourism to date, ABC named the country one of the top destinations to visit in 2015.
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, February 19, 2015 (Newswire.com) - At the beginning of 2014, the Belize Tourism board projected that a million visitors would visit the country over the year, but the actual numbers far surpassed the original prediction. With an increase in everything from overnight arrivals to regular visitors to the country, Belize is poised to continue climbing the ranks of “must visit” lists and become one of the leading countries for vacation home rentals and vacation home purchases.
Cruise arrivals are one of Belize’s biggest sources of visitors, and while in that sector of the hospitality industry alone, the number of visitors from these arrivals feel short of million, the number of overnight visitors in the country steadily rose. Because most people who arrive on a cruise ship do not stay in the country overnight, these visitors are counted separately from the visitors who do actually spend a night in the country. The tourism board reports that more than three hundred thousand tourists spent at least one night in the country, with locations like San Igancio Town and Ambergris Caye being among the most popular. The total number of overnight visitors might actually be higher, as it is difficult to get full records from every hotel, hostel, and house that caters to tourists.
The increase in the total number of visitors to Belize can be attributed to the tourism board and to the Ministry of Tourism, who have been working to establish Belize’s “brand” in the world of tourism and travel. Just in overnight cruise arrivals, Belize’s arrival numbers have increased more than 40%, with record high numbers in December of 2014.
Those record numbers and significant increase in total visitors is despite a number of cancellations over the year. The Director of Cruise and Regional Operations reports that thirteen ships cancelled their arrivals in in 2014, which is much higher than previous years. Many of these cancellations are attributed to the Ebola outbreak and the resulting prerequisite negotiations.
While they have been placed on ABC’s list of top destinations for 2015, officials in Belize’s Ministry of Tourism are expecting modest cruise arrival numbers this year, based on the deployment of cruise ships. That doesn’t mean, however, that they won’t see an overall increase in visitors this year, just as they did last year.
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