The Belize Tourism Board says that tourist arrivals are picking up 3rd according to projections in the 3rd Quarter Tourism Report for the period ending July to September 2011. Belize has welcomed an increasing number of tourists to its shores via the cruise ship port, land border points and the international airport as the statistics obtained from the Immigration Department illustrate below.
Continuing the trends seen in the 2nd quarter report, this year’s third quarter figures indicate that exclusive of cruise passengers, the total tourism arrivals from all points of entry for the period, July to September 2011 increased by 3.3%, accounting for 51,600 overnight stays.
This year’s third quarter figures have also accounted for a notable increase in tourist arrivals. The total number of arrivals documented at PGIA for July to September 2011 was 34,251 visitors. With September seeing the highest number of tourist arrival through the airport since 2007, there was a 1.0% increase through the third quarter and a 4.6% cumulative increase for the year.
With a total of 107,870 passengers during the months of July to September 2011, the cruise tourism industry is still facing significant challenges as indicated in the arrival trends. Having a 6% decrease in the third quarter, we are anticipating that with the commencement of the high season, temperate increases will resume. Below you will find a full breakdown of the 3rd quarter statistics.
Total Overnight Tourist Arrivals
As we compare our arrivals for the past 2 quarters, overnight arrival figures continue to show increases through the third quarter of the year.
There was a 3.4% increase in July, followed by a slight decrease of 1.1% in August. There has been a decrease in each quarter of the year so far in overall arrival numbers. Fortunately enough, each decrease has been followed by an increase in the next month. In September 2011 there was a 9.6% increase in arrivals, marking a 3.3% increase through the third quarter, and a 3.3% cumulative increase for the year.
Airline Tourist Arrivals
The number of overnight tourist arrivals through the Philip Goldson International airport continue to remain relatively consistent.
There was a 1.7% increase in July with a total of 16,935 tourist visitors. This figure marked a record for arrivals in the month of July through the PGIA. There was a 1.4% decrease in August 2011, which was the first decline in arrival figures through the airport for the year. Nonetheless, this decrease was followed by a 3.6% increase in September making this the highest increase for that particular month since the figure of September 2007. All in all, there was a 1.0% increase through the third quarter and a 4.6% cumulative increase for the year as it relates to airline tourist arrivals.
Cruise Tourist Arrivals
The 3rd quarter figures for this year continue to show an overall decrease in cruise arrivals as indicated by the arrival trends.
There was a 12.3% decrease in cruise arrivals in July, followed by an 11.3% increase in August 2011. This illustrates great unpredictability in the sector, as it tries to recover from the difficulties faced in the first quarter of 2011. There was yet another decrease of 16.8% in September, marking a 6.0% decrease in cruise arrivals through the third quarter, and a 10.0% cumulative decrease in 2011. These decreases can be attributed due to ship cancellations from the Carnival Cruise Lines earlier this year and the threat of Hurricane Rina turning back some ships in October. Fortunately as the high season resumes in November and December, moderate increases in cruise arrivals are expected for the last quarter of 2011.
Michael Arana, Tourism Data Analyst at the Belize Tourism Board told the media today that:
“The cruise arrival figures have been unpredictable since the beginning of 2011. At the beginning of the year, in January, we had a problem with the Carnival Cruise Line with the cruise tender issue and we started to see some significant decreases because they started to cancel some of their ships. Since then the trend has been erratic, some months we see increases and some months we see decreases. It has been quite unpredictable.”
I just returned from there and was wondering has anyone tried or is interested in putting in a port where the cruise ships dock? I have some pretty good ideas that would spur up the local economy and help the country as a whole. Is there someone that I could start with? A port would do wonders. Local shops, a beach and excursions could leave from the port. It would also help the elderly and people with limited mobility visit this great country. I see unlimited potential for the local economy and helping unemployment. Thank you for your time.
Charles,
The cruise ships as well as deep draft ships all have the same problem in navigating the shallow waters in Belize. Once you come past the barrier reef, the water becomes very shallow. The consideration is to dredge out to the barrier reef if commercial shipping warranted such an investment. And it is not!