Minutes BETA board, Dec. 5, 2003

The BETA board met with Minister Mark Espat at his BTB office in Belize City on Friday, Dec. 5, 2003, at 11am. Present at the meeting were Minister Espat, Mick Flemming, Mike Heusner, Donna Hill, and Judy Yaeger. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss on how BETA and BTB can work together on the developing cruise tourism industry that does not endanger Belize as a long-stay, ecotourism destination nor damage Belize’s natural environments.

Board members expressed their concerns about the need to develop cruise ship tourism in a sustainable fashion and fears that the fragile ecosystems, especially that of the reef, may be irrevocably damaged by uncontrolled cruise ship visitors. They also stated that overcrowding at tourist destinations within Belize could discourage long-stay visitors from vacationing in Belize.

It was agreed that the recently accepted Cruise Ship Policy was thoughtfully written, but all present agreed that two critical aspects of the policy still need refinement and definition: carrying capacity of the destinations visited by cruise ship passengers, and enforcement of carrying capacities and other strictures contained in the policy, such as guide/pax ratios and total daily limit of the number of cruise ship passengers allowed. Minister Espat expressed confidence that enforcement would be effectively accomplished on all these fronts.

The issue of cost of enforcement and the possibility of raising the head tax for cruise ship visitors was discussed and not discounted.

The meeting concluded with Minister Espat suggesting that BETA and BTIA both be given seats on the Cruise Tourism Monitoring Committee, and that the committee be charged with revisiting the issues of determining site carrying capacity and policy enforcement. The BETA board members present enthusiastically agreed to this idea.

Respectfully Submitted,

Judy Yaeger

BETA Secretary

website: www.bzecotourism.org

email: info@bzecotourism.org