Belize Tourism Industry Association in collaboration with the Organization of American States and the Belize Tourism Board held a two day workshop for emergency planning for the tourism industry.

Mindful that the hurricane season is commencing in just a bit over a month, our recent brush with an earthquake and a tsunami warning as well as the many considerations and possible eventualities for emergencies, the BTIA moved decisively to spearhead the multi-hazard contingency planning for tourism in Belize. The contingency planning session and process was designed by the Organization of American States along with their international partners and implemented in countries across the Caribbean. The workshop on day one included presentations on the process of contingency planning for multiple types of hazards, the structure of Belize's emergency framework via the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and hotel security. Day two included table top emergency simulation exercises and determined those must do's to realize an institutional framework for tourism.

The objective of the workshop was to prepare and train tourism associations covering critical areas such as an institutional framework for management and planning for emergency response and recovery, mitigation for emergencies, damage and needs assessment post an emergency, public relations (national and international) and emergency systems and procedures for individual properties. The training advised the inception of a tourism emergency management committee that would feed into the national system already in place via NEMO, utilizing local destination committees/clusters for effectiveness.

The BTIA will now be moving ahead with continued liaison with the OAS, BTB and NEMO to conduct the countrywide tourism consultations that will be critical to getting the system up and running. With destination chapters in the ten major tourism areas of Belize, the BTIA is well poised to achieve the effective organization of private sector participation and preparation for a national institutional framework for multi-hazards and allowing for that all important connection with the tourism public sector. BTB with a presence on NEMO will be able to offer that critical connection for tourism in the national system allowing for that integrated communication and planning between the private and public sectors nationally.

BTIA thanks the OAS and BTB for its partnership. Mr. Jimmy Chin Security Specialist for several international tourism entities chaired the sessions on Multi-Hazard Contingency Planning and Hotel Security. Present at the two day sessions were Board representatives from the BHA, BNTOA, BNTGA, BTIA Destination Chapters, municipal councils/governments, BERT, Belize Tourism Police Unit and several other private sector entities.