Trip Advisor has released their 2014 Travel Roundup & Trends Forecast for 2015.
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is pleased to share that, as per the 2014 Outbound Travel Report, Ambergris Caye was the #1 Emerging Destination for 2014.
According to Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © 2014 Tourism Edition, this year Belize has remained on the 7th position in the region of Central America followed by its main rivals Nicaragua (8th) and Guyana (9th). Belize ranks #30 in the Americas List.
The research indicates that Belize is performing very modest in all the variables; however, the best results are related to the field of digital demand by having a rather high number of online searches in terms of tourism. Also the growth rates in international tourism receipts and arrivals show low rates because the country is not advertising itself enough online.
Belize has been slow to tap into a potential half-a-billion dollar tourism market, something that other Caribbean countries, most recently Nicaragua, have been enjoying.
With over 150,000 small family-sized private aircrafts in the United States of America (USA), over 40,000 of these planes fly annually to Caribbean destinations such as the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and even Puerto Rico.
It is a ½ billion dollar market that other destinations such as the Bahamas have embraced, implementing special mechanisms to facilitate its full potential. But just as the once famous Boogie in Belize sky diving activities conducted by Tsunami Skydivers were gaining popularity some years ago, authorities in Belize have not been as receptive to the idea as other neighboring countries.
Some countries roll out the welcome mat for foreign retirees, offering sometimes significant tax breaks, in-country discounts and other perks to anyone who qualifies for resident retiree status. The age you qualify as a retiree can have a broad definition, depending on where you go. For example, in Belize you can qualify for retirement residency and the associated perks as young as 45, and Panama has no stated minimum age requirement for its Gold Standard retiree residency program.
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) has announced an increase in tourist arrivals for the third quarter of 2014. In a press release dated Friday, October 10th, BTB stated that both overnight and cruise ship arrivals have increased, and even exceeded, the forecasted numbers. The third quarter refers to the months of July, August and September, and is generally considered the slow season in the tourism industry, usually registering a low influx of tourist arrivals.
John Morgan, the ECI's Vice President of Construction sent this story in about his daughter. Congratulation Savannah and John.
Last month I got the opportunity to see my daughter Savannah play her 1st professional basketball game in Wuppertal , Germany.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has released a report indicating that for the year 2013, travel and tourism netted Belize BZ$1.2 billion, or 36.6% of GDP, in 2013. WTTC forecasts that travel and tourism in Belize should grow by 4.5% during 2014. Tourism accounts for 33% of all jobs in Belize.
Statistics recently released by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) indicated that tourism arrivals grew in 2013 by 5.7% for the cruise tourism sector and by 6.1% for the overnight tourism sector.
WTTC's report said that, "The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment, including jobs indirectly supported by the sector was 46,823 jobs (33.0% of total employment)."
The San Pedro Police Department have been handed a refurbished, two storey wooden building complete with eight living quarters for our island officers. The construction of the new barracks was a project coordinated by a handful of businesspeople on Ambergris Caye and headed by Mukul Kanabar of Blue Water Grille. After months of fundraising and slow but constant work, the project is almost completed and ready for our new police officers.
When you plan to buy property, it's smart to do your research and invest in a property that can be fruitful for you. This is only possible when you thoroughly look out a place that has increasing economic activity, politically and socially secure environment, and most of all, English as its official language in order to help you understand laws, rules and regulations of that particular state or country.
Belize is one such country that perfectly fits the above mentioned description. It is not only growing economically, it is relatively free of social and political tensions or as much as an independent nation can be, and it is beautiful and serene.
If you could buy prime beachfront property at a bargain price, wouldn't you?>
Finding a steal in the U.S. is probably not going to happen. Housing affordability is diminishing, and in some markets homes are even less affordable now than they were in the heyday of the housing bubble. So investors, retirees and adventurous buyers are looking internationally for options that offer a better bang for their buck.
