Tourism is most of the way back – 2023 arrival numbers recovered 3/4s of pre-pandemic growth

By Aaron Humes: Today, Wednesday, January 10, was Belize’s busiest cruise day of 2024, which coincidentally is only 10 days old.

Nonetheless, four ships – Carnival Dream, Carnival Magic, Sky Princess, and Regal Princess, with 16 thousand passengers between them – called on Belize, underlining Belize’s resilient recovery in all aspects of what has become our number one industry.

The Belize Tourism Board’s (BTB) annual report focused on “resilient recovery” as seen in the preliminary figures of 464,717 overnight visitors to Belize in 2023 – more than the entire estimated population of 410 thousand – and a further 904,189 visitors by cruise ship.

The overnight figure is an increase of 25 percent from 2022, the first full year after the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy subsided, but still 7.6 percent fewer than the high water mark of 2019, when there were more than half a million visitors to the Jewel. December 2023 saw the second-highest-ever overnight tourist arrival figure in Belizean history with 55,574 visitors.

Despite the lack of a cruise port in the largest destination for cruisers, Belize City, cruise ship visitors surged 47 percent from 2022 but trailed 2019 figures by 23 percent. The numbers are expected to rise even further with an estimated 950 thousand cruise visitors in 2024.

The Board says Belize remains committed to fostering sustainable tourism growth, ensuring the well-being of visitors, and preserving the unique cultural and natural treasures that make Belize a sought-after destination: “The positive momentum observed in 2023 serves as a testament to Belize’s enduring appeal and its ability to adapt to evolving travel dynamics. As the nation looks ahead, the tourism sector remains poised for further growth, offering an optimistic outlook for the industry’s continued recovery.”

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