Placencia BTIA Goes to BETEX

By: James Cleve Westby,   October 2006

The Belize Tourism Expo BETEX 2006 took place from September 12 to September 17th. The expo offered an exclusive opportunity for travel agent and wholesalers to meet with local suppliers, and experience Belize, our beloved country, with its natural beauty. This year's show included a 2-day marketplace that took place at the Princess Hotel and Casino to allow travel agents and wholesalers personal meetings with local businesses that attended the show. In the afternoon of the second day the show was opened to public of Belize. This was to give the public a chance to see what our Tourism Industry has to offer. After the two days of market place a 3-day expedition, was given to travel agents and wholesalers to experience Belize first hand. Expedition options focused on Culture/Archaeology, Island Adventure, Jungle/Wildlife, Diving/Snorkeling and Inland Adventure. Agents/wholesalers traveled all over Belize to enjoy these expeditions.

The Placencia BTIA was invited to attend BETEX and have an information booth situated at the main entrance to the King’s Room. We arrived the 12th morning and began setting up right away like so many others attending the show. That evening we attended the opening reception at the Old Belize Cultural & Historical Center. While there we had the chance to walk through the museum and see it wonders. We mingled and greeted everyone including the teams from BETEX, BTIA, and the BTB and many more guests, along with wholesalers and travel agents.

Placencia BTIA’s main focus at BETEX was to show the travel agents and wholesaler all of the things that Placencia has to offer - accommodations, activities, and adventures. The Placencia Tourism Center staff prepared information binders that showcased all of our BTIA members and what each member had to offer. Other binders showcased individual activities that can be done from our area including whale shark tourism, marine based tours such as diving & snorkeling, archeological sites and other inland tours. To emphasize what Placencia offers as a destination our booth had a beach theme with coconut trees and an underwater back drop that showcased six brilliantly colored 20 x 24 photos of the area. Special thanks to Fishy Business, Sugar Reef Sunset Lounge, Muzamanzie Photograph and Rachel Graham for assisting in making this booth the success it was. Working at the booth with me was Placencia BTIA co-chairwoman Hannah Cowell, who has been to many of these expo shows. For me it was my first time attending one of these shows, and to see the magnificent creations that each business put on display was amazing. They were so detailed that neither travel agents nor wholesalers really needed to go any further so see the wonders of Belize – it was all right there.
Because of our location every single person that attended BETEX passed by our booth and many of the agents/wholesale took advantage of our presence barraging us with questions, “Where is Placencia?” “What does Placencia have to offer?” “When is whale shark season?” We answered these questions and many more, handed out over 500 copies of the newest issue of The Placencia Breeze, discussed photos, and directed everyone to our websites www.placencia.com and the www.placenciabreeze.com .
We even got the chance to meet with a group from the Toledo BTIA, who was extremely interested in what we do at the Placencia Branch and how we obtain and share our information. All in all we had seen and answered questions from about 200 folks.
On our last night we attended the closing reception, where we mingled and talked with a few agents and wholesalers encouraging them to come to Placencia and see what we where all about.
Other business who attend BETEX from this area were The Placencia Hotel & Residences, The Inn at Robert’s Grove, South Belize Reef and Jungle and Sugar Reef Sunset Lounge who both shared a booth and worked hand in hand, Caribbean Tours, Chabil Mar Villas, Turtle Inn, Saks at Placencia and Laru Beya.
The Placencia BTIA wishes to thank BTIA’s Executive Director Andrew Godoy and the National Board of the Belize Tourism Industry Association for granting our branch the opportunity to attend BETEX and the entire BETEX team, especially Nicole Usher, for all the hard work they put in to making BETEX the incredible success it was!!!!! Placencia BTIA looks forward to joining in BETEX 2008!!!!

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Miss Florida Belize 2006 Visit Placencia

By: James Cleve Westby, October 2006

On September 19th, I had the privilege to meet Miss Porsche Cattouse who holds the title of Miss Florida Belize 2006-2007, her mother Rose and grandmother Gilda. Miss Cattouse was born in Brooklyn, New York, and now resides in Florida with her family. She is 18 years old and attends FIU in Florida, majoring in Marketing/Advertising. Her hobbies and interest are singing, writing lyrics, and playing the drums.
Miss Cattouse was given the opportunity to come to Belize and to visit Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret, with the help of the Belize Association of Florida. When I asked if it was her first time in Belize, she smiled and replied “No I was here when I was about 10, but it’s been a while. But it’s my first time to Placencia... every thing is so very peaceful, the food is great and the people are nice”
She also explained it great that the Belize Association of Florida keeps up these pageants and awareness of the Belizean Culture. She was honored to come to Belize and see the culture first hand for herself. She could not help but to express he self saying “Everyone here is so mannerly and adorable, it is so different back home in Florida where young children have no respect for their elders, but these beautiful children of Belize, they have it, manners and respect and I encourage them to stay that way. It a beautiful thing to see.”
She was also happy to attend the festivities of the 208th Anniversary of Battle of St. Georges Caye in Belize City and will be attending the Governor’s Ball for the 25 Anniversary of our Independence. She also enjoyed going to St Georges Caye and learning more of the Battle.
A few of the boys from St. John’s School had a chance to stand and pose with Miss Cattouse. When asked if she had any advice for the young ladies of our community, she replied “Stay true to yourself, always listen to your parents, also stay focused on education.”
Her mother Rose also said “The children should know what they want once they do make goals and stay focused on those goals.” As for her grandmother Gilda, “Find a role model or someone that inspires them, as I am my granddaughter’s inspiration. I myself won Queen of the Bay ages ago.” It was nice to see a generation of three with love, and understanding.

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Reef Restoration at Laughing Bird Caye National Park

By: L. Crane, B Sci. Marine Biology   October 2006

Laughing Bird Caye was declared a National Park in 1996 and is one of the seven marine sites which comprises the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage site. It is only 12 miles East of Placencia Village and last year over 9000 people took the short boat ride out to dive or snorkel there. Its extensive unique faro reef system is home to over 106 species of fish and at least 45 species of corals. The national park status means over 10,000 marine acres are a “No-Take” Zone and this protection has allowed an increase in lobster abundance and average size of over 20 % in recent years. Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) used to surround Laughing Bird Caye but has disappeared completely since the El Nino event in 1997-98 and Hurricane Mitch (1998).
Elkhorn coral, or “pan-tail” in Creole, used to be one of the most prevalent coral species in Belize and the wider Caribbean. Besides Laughing Bird Caye National Park many other Elkhorn coral stands have been reduced or decimated throughout Belize, including Glover’s Reef and Goff’s Caye. It’s been estimated that greater than 98% of this species and its relative, Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis), has been lost in the last 30 years. In fact these two coral species were recently officially listed as “Endangered” in the United States, and the government there is implementing a restoration/recovery plan for its reefs.
The good news is that Belize does still have healthy stands of both species; Elkhorn is making a natural recovery at Gladden Spit, Ranguana Caye, Glover’s Reef, and many other sites. Staghorn is coming back at multiple locations, too, including Laughing Bird Caye National Park.
Both species are fast growing (4-5 inches per year) and both species reproduce asexually naturally through fragmentation: when storms come and break off pieces those pieces may live if they don’t get tumbled around in the sand and lost.
Elkhorn coral is particularly important because it provides protection to cayes in storms, grows fast enough to keep pace with rising sea levels, and provides habitat to hundreds of marine species, including the commercially important Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus. Much of Belize’s economy relies on marine tourism and commercial seafood products so any restoration of this critical coral has long-term financial and conservation benefits.
Restoration efforts with Elkhorn coral have been successful in other parts of the Caribbean. Multiple sites have been restored in the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and most recently, Mexico.
Because both hurricane and disease have been causing this coral’s death, the project at Laughing Bird Caye is a pilot project. Control fragments will be re-attached at Gladden Spit and Silk Caye, where it is naturally recurring, and experimental fragments will be attached at Laughing Bird Caye. This project’s duration is one year. Success is defined as survival and growth of even one fragment.
If this project is successful, it can be expanded throughout Belize to re-seed devastated A. palmata stands. Each year, when storms pass, they create naturally broken fragments that could be rescued and reattached, to enhance both high-impact tourism sites and habitat for commercial species.
Three community consultations will be held throughout this project. The first was scheduled for Oct. 10 in Placencia Village, at 6pm, and interested persons were invited to attend. This consultation explained the methodology in detail, with maps and photographs, and had ample time for discussion. The second consult will also be in Placencia, after the transplants are affixed, to let all tour guides and interested persons know the locations of the transplanted coral fragments. The final public consult will disseminate the projects results.
The Belize Fisheries Department and Friends of Nature will participate in this project. Please contact Lisa Carne at 523-3393, 623-6122, or by e-mail: lisas@btl.net  if you have any questions concerning this pilot coral restoration project. This project is funded by Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) through its Research Grant Program.

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Electronics Applications Forms Required

 for U.S. Non-Immigrants (Tourist & Student) Visas

 October 2006

The United States Department of state announced the beginning November 1, 2006 all applications for non-immigrants visas (NIV) must be submitted on Electronic Visa Application Forms (called EVAFs) in order to be accepted by the Consular Unit of any U.S. Embassy. Therefore, as of November 1 hand written applications will no longer be accepted. This is global initiative and will be enforced by all Consular Affairs Officers at all U.S. Embassies throughout the world.
Applicants wishing to apply for Tourist (B1/B2), Business (B1), Student (F1), Fiancé (K1), Educational and Training (J1), worker (H1, H2), Religious (R1) as well as other non-immigrant and government- related visas must submit their application on EVAF in order to be considered for an interview.
An EVAF may be accessed at http://EVISAFORMS.STATE.GOV and instruction on how to fill out the application are include at the site. Each applicant is responsible for accessing, filling out and turning in a completed application. Application will be rejected if not filled out correctly or completely using the EVAF. Hand - written application will no longer be accepted after November 1.
This process has already been required by many Consular Offices throughout the world, and as of August 1, 2006, close to 51 percent of all NIV applications were submitted on an EVAF. The U.S. State Department has implemented this requirement on a sequential basis, using cities as remote as Tashkent, Uzbekistan and as populated as New Delhi, India as pilot programs and have shown the EVAF process to be more effective in data collection and time management for both the applicant and the Consular processes.
The U.S. Embassy in Belize strongly recommends that applicants access the website mentioned above and begin using the EVAF immediately in order to begin a seamless transition.

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