Minister and BTB Schedule Destination Visits

The Minister of Tourism, Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr., the CEO of the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Mike Singh, the Director of the Belize Tourism Board, Mrs. Tracy Panton, and the Management team met with tourism stakeholders at a Community Stakeholder Meeting hold on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel.

In his address to the stakeholders, Minister Heredia formally introduced himself to the stakeholders and emphasized his commitment and support to the industry’s development and to all stakeholders involved in the industry. He outlined the importance of proper management and regulation as stakeholders work together to resolve new challenges.

After his introduction, Mr. Singh went on to discuss a number of initiatives that the Ministry would be embarking on in the upcoming years. Some of these initiatives include the new airline strategy for the destination, the hiring of an investment officer to evaluate and analyze new investments that would develop the tourism industry, regional branding of each destination independently by creating new promotional and marketing initiatives for each destination, and a bilateral agreement with Mexico in regards to airline connectivity between both countries in an effort to welcome flights from the United States, Canada and Europe via Mexico.

The visit to the Cayo District is part of a series of destination visits the BTB is planning to host with stakeholders around the country that seeks to provide an open forum for discussion on matters affecting the industry nationally and more specifically in the immediate destinations.