Overview of the Hotels Industry

The Hotels and Tourist Accommodations Industry in Belize is vastly growing and now boasts a whopping 582 licensed and active accommodation properties ranging from luxurious all-inclusive resorts to quaint bed and breakfasts and rustic eco-tourism sites and campgrounds.   Whatever the needs of our guests may be or whatever their budget is, Belize has a variety of accommodations to suit every traveler. 

The highest concentration of hotels, resorts, cabins and cabañas, is found in the Ambergris Caye, Placencia and Cayo District areas.  The Hotel Industry is also responsible for many employment opportunities throughout Belize. Currently, the hotels industry directly employs over 4,000 persons in this sector with jobs ranging from managers and accountants to cooks and maintenance personnel.  This number can only be expected to increase in the coming years.

How the Hotels Industry Functions and is Regulated

There are three major organizations which play an important part in the functioning and regulating of the Hotels Industry.  These include the

• Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA)
• Belize Hotel Association (BHA), and
• Office of the Registrar of Hotels and Tourists Accommodation in the Belize Tourism Board. 

The latter is a department within the Belize Tourism Board, which is charged with the responsibility of regulating the operation and management of hotels and tourist accommodations based on the Hotels and Tourist Accommodations Act, Chapter 285 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2003. 

The former, BHA and BTIA, are both membership organizations which lobby to the government on behalf of its members and as such, help to ensure that its members’ voices are heard by policy makers within the government.  The synergy between the statutory body and the membership organizations allows for proper regulation and offers an environment that fosters growth and development in this industry.