Post by Taylor Ruoff
The International Institute of Tourism Studies provides Master of Tourism Administration students with unique opportunities to participate in ongoing research and consulting projects that support sustainable tourism development all over the world. Last year, recent graduate Taylor Ruoff went to Belize City to work on a project designed to help the country better manage its growing influx of visitors and their impact on the country's resources. Here are her reflections on the experience and the future of tourism in Belize.
Belize City is not only the country’s largest urban area, but also serves as its commercial and cultural epicenter, and the main port of call for cruise tourism. Nearly 850,000 passengers arrived by ship last year to explore the country’s barrier reef, offshore islands, cave systems and Mayan archaeological sites.
While the industry has grown steadily and fostered entrepreneurship and economic growth in Belize, tourism is bringing an influx of people to the city, which is increasing pressure on resources, infrastructure, transportation and other services. Despite noticeable improvements in recent years, “crime-ridden”, “unsafe”, and “dangerous” are adjectives commonly used by outsiders when describing the city, and the reason that a number of tourists don’t ever venture past the port.
ASSESSING THE SITUATION
To help Belize City identify and overcome these challenges and plan for a sustainable future, I recently participated in the development of a destination assessment and sustainability plan. Along with International Institute of Tourism Studies Executive Director Seleni Matus and fellow graduate student Amanda Reiser—as well as Belize’s Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Board, industry associations, conservationists, tour operators, attraction managers, and other key local stakeholders—we helped to facilitate dialogue and exchange between these different groups. While they are key influencers and decision-makers, they're often not at the same table when it comes to discussing tourism.
“This sustainability assessment, the first ever of its kind for Belize, is a great step in elevating the importance and path towards responsible development and management within our cruise destinations,” noted Abil Castañeda, Chief Tourism Officer for the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation of Belize.
SOCIAL MEDIA LISTENING
As part of the assessment, a team of graduate students from George Washington University’s Master of Tourism Administration program analyzed reviews on TripAdvisor and Cruise Critic to better understand visitor perceptions of the destination. “Our results revealed that visitors appreciated the wealth of knowledge and stellar service provided by local Belizean guides, and greatly enjoy the diverse natural tourism products the destination has to offer,” shared Reiser. “However, visitors also noted that a lack of accessibility, safety issues, and overcrowding at some popular attractions and sites degraded their overall experience, which was further confirmed by our site visits while in-country.”
In May, the GW team presented the results of the social media analysis and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council Destination Assessment in Belize City. We also facilitated the development of a sustainability action plan with input from local stakeholders. As a result, stakeholders agreed that in the near-term, they would take measures to better understand and mitigate against the negative impacts of tourism on visitor attractions and natural sites. For example, we discussed the production of guidelines to protect and properly interact with wildlife. Stakeholders also agreed to drive local action and policy-making around tourism development more generally by, for instance, measuring maximum capacities and limiting visitation to minimize overcrowding.
THE FUTURE OF CRUISE TOURISM
Following the assessment, the Belize Tourism Board held the country’s first cruise conference this past August, which brought together cruise line executives from Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian, and other cruise tourism experts to discuss new trends and key issues pertaining to the sustainability of the industry and Belize. I had the opportunity to present the findings of our team’s online visitor perception assessment at the event, stressing the importance of tracking visitor experiences to better address safety, accessibility, and overcrowding challenges at popular attractions and sites. The assessment and conference are major milestones for Belize and are part of a larger effort to promote destination stewardship and cruise tourism sustainability throughout the country.
This destination sustainability assessment of Belize City was sponsored by the GSTC, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) with funding and support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
