While your analysis and recommendation make a lot of sense, the real problem lies somewhere else. There is no political leadership which applies strategic thinking beyond the current term. It is just not there. In many realms of life, be it economy, education, energy or finance, problems are obvious and proven solutions can be found all over the world. However, we only do uncoordinated mini steps. I am not very optimistic.
I agree. The lack of long-term political leadership is a core constraint. My approach is to keep putting ideas into the public conversation, not because change is guaranteed, but because ideas compound. Eventually, someone with real authority may decide that building a lasting legacy matters more than short-term wins. That is usually how change starts in places like Belize.
Love that you called out destination management—it pushed me to think beyond “more rooms” and into the full visitor journey.
It also reminded me of how well Destination Belize magazine worked as a discovery tool. We could use that same energy in a more structured way—especially because we don’t have many destination-specific fairs/expos during the tourism season. Outside a few anchors (Taco Fest in OW and Garifuna celebrations down south), there isn’t a lot consistently “on” for visitors in peak months. Easter and Agric events are important, but they’re mostly for locals.
From the tech side, it makes me ask: what booking + discovery infrastructure are visitors used to where they come from (events, tours, transport visibility), and how do we offer something comparable locally? Hotels are one obvious example—many boutique family-run places still operate on phone + paper, and the same is true across tours and transport.
I can see value in expanding the strategy into a few lenses: destination programming, tour/experience booking, and transport/food coordination. The opportunity is in the knowledge—making Belize easier to navigate and plan, not just easier to sleep in.
I agree with your framing, especially around discovery and coordination. I’d add that the real opportunity is ensuring readiness leads demand, not follows it. The current BTB has done a good job promoting Belize and building interest in the destination. Where it gets harder is that planning often responds to pressure rather than anticipating where demand is heading. Upgrades tend to happen once systems are already strained (e.g. PGIA), which makes it harder to protect quality as tourism grows.
On Destination Belize, I think they got something important right by using local voices and lived experience. I always enjoyed the pieces by tour guides and resort owners because they captured what actually makes Belize special. Where it fell short was in pulling tourists beyond the main tourism hubs. Part of that is understandable, since those places are established and in demand. But it also comes back to itinerary coordination and whether emerging destinations are actually ready to absorb more visitors in a meaningful way. That kind of alignment would have required closer coordination with the BTB (and the BTIA).
Agreed — “readiness should lead demand” is the key line for me.
One practical way to reduce the anticipation gap is season programming: when you create reliable anchors (like Lobster Fest / Conch Fest), visitors naturally cluster around a place and time, and businesses get runway to prepare, hire, train, and promote. It turns growth from reactive pressure into something you can stage-manage.
Also +1 on Destination Belize: local voices were the magic. The harder part is exactly what you said—moving people beyond the hubs requires itinerary coordination and real capacity planning, not just marketing.
This was such a good read I went down a rabbit hole and… as a software person, I actually started building 😅 I’ll share more when the timing is right.
If you ever do a follow-up series, I’d love to see a “readiness lens” applied to tours/guide capacity, restaurant/food service readiness, and maybe rentals/transport—not to pile on, just because those pieces shape the experience as much as rooms do.
The idea is that Belize would need a public planning and coordination mechanism — similar to Mexico’s FONATUR — that assembles land, aligns infrastructure, and lowers first-mover risk so private investment can follow.
While your analysis and recommendation make a lot of sense, the real problem lies somewhere else. There is no political leadership which applies strategic thinking beyond the current term. It is just not there. In many realms of life, be it economy, education, energy or finance, problems are obvious and proven solutions can be found all over the world. However, we only do uncoordinated mini steps. I am not very optimistic.
I agree. The lack of long-term political leadership is a core constraint. My approach is to keep putting ideas into the public conversation, not because change is guaranteed, but because ideas compound. Eventually, someone with real authority may decide that building a lasting legacy matters more than short-term wins. That is usually how change starts in places like Belize.
Love that you called out destination management—it pushed me to think beyond “more rooms” and into the full visitor journey.
It also reminded me of how well Destination Belize magazine worked as a discovery tool. We could use that same energy in a more structured way—especially because we don’t have many destination-specific fairs/expos during the tourism season. Outside a few anchors (Taco Fest in OW and Garifuna celebrations down south), there isn’t a lot consistently “on” for visitors in peak months. Easter and Agric events are important, but they’re mostly for locals.
From the tech side, it makes me ask: what booking + discovery infrastructure are visitors used to where they come from (events, tours, transport visibility), and how do we offer something comparable locally? Hotels are one obvious example—many boutique family-run places still operate on phone + paper, and the same is true across tours and transport.
I can see value in expanding the strategy into a few lenses: destination programming, tour/experience booking, and transport/food coordination. The opportunity is in the knowledge—making Belize easier to navigate and plan, not just easier to sleep in.
Really strong write-up.
I agree with your framing, especially around discovery and coordination. I’d add that the real opportunity is ensuring readiness leads demand, not follows it. The current BTB has done a good job promoting Belize and building interest in the destination. Where it gets harder is that planning often responds to pressure rather than anticipating where demand is heading. Upgrades tend to happen once systems are already strained (e.g. PGIA), which makes it harder to protect quality as tourism grows.
On Destination Belize, I think they got something important right by using local voices and lived experience. I always enjoyed the pieces by tour guides and resort owners because they captured what actually makes Belize special. Where it fell short was in pulling tourists beyond the main tourism hubs. Part of that is understandable, since those places are established and in demand. But it also comes back to itinerary coordination and whether emerging destinations are actually ready to absorb more visitors in a meaningful way. That kind of alignment would have required closer coordination with the BTB (and the BTIA).
Agreed — “readiness should lead demand” is the key line for me.
One practical way to reduce the anticipation gap is season programming: when you create reliable anchors (like Lobster Fest / Conch Fest), visitors naturally cluster around a place and time, and businesses get runway to prepare, hire, train, and promote. It turns growth from reactive pressure into something you can stage-manage.
Also +1 on Destination Belize: local voices were the magic. The harder part is exactly what you said—moving people beyond the hubs requires itinerary coordination and real capacity planning, not just marketing.
This was such a good read I went down a rabbit hole and… as a software person, I actually started building 😅 I’ll share more when the timing is right.
If you ever do a follow-up series, I’d love to see a “readiness lens” applied to tours/guide capacity, restaurant/food service readiness, and maybe rentals/transport—not to pile on, just because those pieces shape the experience as much as rooms do.
Thanks again.
Is that something that the country would partially fund? It seems hard/expensive/potentially risky to be the first big hotel in an area…
As a country or even as an island…there is almost no coordination or long term planning. This would be a huge change!
The idea is that Belize would need a public planning and coordination mechanism — similar to Mexico’s FONATUR — that assembles land, aligns infrastructure, and lowers first-mover risk so private investment can follow.
I love that but it would take an actual miracle. Happy New Year!