Stakeholders Unite to Strengthen Tourism Safety Measures in Belize

Some 70 stakeholders drawn from various sectors descended on the Biltmore Plus to step up tourism safety for visitors. Jahriene Sankey tell us more. 

Jahreine Sankey, Love Reporter: Belize kicks off a bold new chapter in tourism with the first National Tourism Security Strategy Summit, led by the Belize Tourism Board (BTB).  Introduced in June 2025, The summit is designed to address a wide range of risks and threats facing the tourism industry, contributing nearly half of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 40%, and playing a vital role in the national economy.

The initiative prioritizes safety through collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure strong security measures are in place—benefiting both international tourists and, more importantly, locals. The plan focuses on real-world applications, training officers to use the plan as a practical guide for identifying and addressing security gaps. The five year plan will also be evaluated annually to assess its effectiveness.  Herman Blease is the Security Specialist at the Belize Tourism Board and he told us more.

Herman Blease, Security Specialist, BTB: “We are the regulators basically.  And so we put in place regulations based on the laws that governs us, Chapter 275 and 285 of the Laws of Belize.  So, what happens is that the BTB receives the data from our partners.  Like I always say, many times people who are violating our regulations, we don’t go out and look for them. Many times, people who see these violations call us and tell us, and that helps us strategize and then we get the different agencies to assist us in addressing or mitigating those threats.  And so, we have a lot of issues in terms of illegal tour guiding and illegal tour operations. NICH has problems with illegal people going to the sites and conducting illegal tours.  All of those things combined are a threat to the tourism industry.  And so together, as you see in this room, it is about coming together and addressing the problems that we have in the industry. As you heard our CEO just said, we’re about 50 % of GDP and we only need one incident to move from what we call a high season to a slow season.”

Jahirine Sankey, Love Reporter: “Nicole Solano, the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora Relations, emphasized that the initiative is primarily designed to benefit Belizean citizens. Adding that when residents feel safe, it establishes a foundation of security that also makes visitors feel secure, ultimately leading to an increase in tourist arrivals.”

Nicole Solano, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora Relations: “Safety and security is integral to tourism development and growth for Belize. I think we say it over and over that  the Tourism industry contributes to almost half of GDP for Belize.  And every time there is a shift or a dip,  we feel it across the economy.  So, tourism safety and security really does impact on a traveler’s decision on whether or not they choose a destination.  So for them to feel that they can come to Belize and enjoy everything that we have to offer, all of our  natural and cultural  assets, they also have to feel safe.  So it’s important. It’s something that we  try to do in the background to ensure that um our visitors are safe. But  I want to emphasize it’s not only about the visitors, it’s about our residents and our citizens.  What our residents and citizens need is the exact same thing that our visitors need.  So once we can um effectively put in place what is necessary for  us as a community,  we are by extension taking care of our visitors.

Jermaine Burns the Chief Staff at the Belize Defence Force also sat in the summit to observe what their role is moving forward, committing and establishing their presence among other agencies. 

Jermaine Burns, Chief of Staff at The Belize Defence Force : “What we’re doing here today now with the summit  is  looking at the individual organization’s roles  and  the roles we all play in the overall strategy  and the Belize Defense Force  is  helping with the lead here because we are that organization that is in the  most remote areas of the terrestrial part of our country.  Coast Guard, of course, leads out at sea.  And so, because of that coverage for those remote areas where remote visits are  for tourists, we would then cover the security aspect of that, of course, with the help of our partners.  And the strategy speaks to those four levers and the way we go about doing it and improving it over the next five years.  And the big thing here is for us to promote partnerships. So getting all these stakeholders, the 65 members of the different organizations here today, is basically to do just that ,exercise an implementation plan that we’ve drafted and see how it works and get  feedback from our stakeholders in order for us to protect the tourism industry as it stands.”

Jahirine Sankey, Love Reporter: Other participating agencies included members of the Belize Security Forces, the National Institute of Culture and History ( NICH), the Fisheries Department, the Belize Tourism Zone and more. International partners such as the U.S. Embassy, The British High Commission  and the British Army Training Support Unit (BATSUB) also took part in the event. Reporting for Love News, I am Jahirene Sankey.