Successful Tourism Development in Belize

The Tourism industry in Belize has already taken off with 2019 being a record year and surpassing the average 400,000 annual visitor threshold. This industry has always accounted for a huge portion of the economy, with Ambergris Caye generating around two-thirds of the total revenue. The government is eager to focus on Ambergris Caye and several other tourist destinations to attract foreign investment and build a good reputation for the country. The government needs to work hand in hand with tourism developers, such as Michael Beggs to build luxury accommodations and bring awareness to the country as a leading travel destination.

The tourism demographics have been changing within the last few years from the young “FIT” travelers to older refined guests in need of comfort and style. The older guests are ready to spend large amounts of money and they are skipping flights to the Maldives and Bora Bora and opting for shorter flights to Belize, where they enjoy similar vacation environments, such as world-class diving, water sports, natural beauty, historical ancient ruins, sunny tropical weather, and incredible marine life.

The Accommodations

Speaking of the accommodations, several luxurious hotels and resorts have existed on the island for many years, however like almost all the products on offer in Belize they are traditional condo hotel models, Belize’s tourism product has unfortunately developed as a factor of finance restrictions and available capital. Michael Beggs, the Managing Director of Alpha International Development, claims that destinations take many years to build the right products to attract the right customers. Belize has incredible opportunities for astute investors looking to develop the right products for a growing market, however careful planning and doing proper arm’s length market and feasibility studies is imperative to avoid the pitfalls of overcapitalizing or even worse under capitalizing a project.

Several new projects with major hotel brands have finally arrived in the country, either recently completed like the Autograph Collection by Marriott™ or in planning such as the Marriott Beach Resort on Ambergris Caye… One of the key elements behind these developments is that the Developers are willing to and have spent the money using world class Architects and project consultants, such as Rafael Amuchastegui at RAD Miami, arguably one of the leading luxury resort architecture firms.

Key Tourist Attractions in Belize

Belize is among the leading travel destinations in the world, and it provides many spectacular and captivating attractions along with a variety of fun-filled adventures and activities. Overall, Belize has a sub-tropical climate that makes it a perfect vacation destination throughout the year. The temperatures range between 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperatures are low between November and January every year and highest between May and September.

Once the home of more than 2 million Mayas, Belize stands as the heart of the ancient Maya world. The Maya civilization left a permanent mark on the landscape of the country. The Maya's legacy is evident in many ancient structures like pyramids, temples, agriculture, science, mathematics, and palaces. The most famous Mayan sites are Xunantunich, Altun Ha, Santa Rita, Caracol, Cahal Pech, Barton Creek Cave, Lamanai, Cerros, Nim Li Punit, and Lubaantan.

If you love wildlife, you should be happy to know that Belize has a very low population density. It has little industrial development and the commercial activities are very slow. The upside of this is that the country has a lot of lands covered by tropical rainforest and bush allowing wildlife to flourish. The locals and the government know that wildlife is an important tourist attraction and they have therefore been attracting wild animals and birds. Expect to see jaguars, howler monkeys, tapirs, scarlet macaws, and many other animals.

“The country has almost 40% of its landmass in protected areas, reserves and parks, with a commitment to have 30% of its marine areas under protection by 2030”.

Michael Beggs is a veteran of the hospitality and hotel development industry for over thirty years, specializing in project feasibility, project design and development, market analysis, hotel marketing and operations, luxury real estate sales and marketing, and hotel technology. Furthermore, he has worked around the globe and consulted in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, Central America, Africa and Europe. His latest development in Belize; Coconut Point is set to redefine Caribbean Living.