Belize Tourism Industry Association conducts Bi-Annual General Meeting
The Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) conducted its Bi-Annual General Meeting at Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina on May 27th. Approximately 135 tourism industry stakeholders were in attendance.
After the BTIA President, Mrs. Dionne Miranda, welcomed the group, Mrs. Valerie
Woods, Secretary, BTIA Board of Directors, presented BTIA's Strategic Vision
for the future. The presentation highlighted BTIA's strengths and overall achievements,
and looked at the areas that need improvement and those that present challenges
for the association and the industry.
The current Board of Directors is taking a new, proactive approach to clarifying the role of the association within the industry and improving membership outreach and communication. There was also a call for BTIA members to become more involved in formalizing the draft revisions of the Strategic Plan, as well as developing and implementing the association's strategy.
Mrs. Nicole Solano, Executive Director of BTIA then gave an overview of recent accomplishments, and presented the results of the recent survey on the current state of the tourism industry. A total of 122 respondents from a wide cross section of stakeholders participated in the survey, with hoteliers being the majority of respondents.
The survey results indicated that businesses are feeling the adverse effects of the slowdown in the global economy and the decline in tourist arrivals to Belize, with serious concerns about high airfares, high taxation, insufficient or inadequate marketing and crime levels. While tourism companies have seen a slowdown in business over this past high season, and expect things to get even slower over the coming months, most businesses are optimistic and will remain vigilant in their efforts to capture every available sale in order to maximize revenues, and be prudent in spending in order to minimize expenditures.
Mrs Juliana Arana the "Face of Belize" for this year's Official Visitor Magazine Destination Belize was also acknowledged, and was presented with a special token by Mr. Ian Lizarraga, Director, BTIA Board of Directors.
The special Guest Presenter was Mr. Dale Stewart who provided insight on marketing the Belize travel industry during tough economic times. He is a top crisis management, travel security and risk analysis expert who shared his views on how Belize can become a new hybrid vacation experience by combining adventure travel with true educational learning experiences.
The event ended with a raffle of an airline ticket, courtesy American Airlines,
a SMART phone, and vacation packages from Ka'ana Resort and Caves Branch Jungle
Lodge. Mrs. Catherine Paz, 2nd Vice President, gave Words of Thanks.
BTIA thanks all those who took the time to attend and participate, as well as
those who sponsored the event: Atlantic Bank Group of Companies; American Airlines;
Caribbean Treasures Ltd; Innovative Signs; BRC Printing; Smart Ltd; Bakabush
Adventures Tours Ltd; Idea Lab Studios; Brothers Habet Ltd.; Ka'ana Boutique
Resort and Caves Branch Jungle Lodge.
For more information on BTIA's Bi-Annual General Meeting, please contact the
BTIA main office at 227-1144 or via email at info@btia.org
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