Relations

eighty percent (80%) of our tourism industry revenue. As you can imagine, the dramatic economic downturn had a deleterious impact on our tourism businesses, on most local industries, and especially on the people of Belize.

In November of 2020, when I became the Minister of Tourism, things were bleak, and the experts were saying that travel and tourism were done. To be honest, I spent the first few days wondering what we needed to do. I can remember thinking to myself, “Why is the Prime Minister punishing me?”

However, there was a rainbow between those dark clouds, and it did not take long for me to see it. It was after my initial interaction with the private sector, that my inspiration was renewed. Once I felt their optimism and saw their tenacity to move forward, I formed a new resolve. I again gave up thinking but this time I thought that maybe it was not punishment and that starting from scratch could actually be a blessing in disguise.

Since then, that blessing has been taking form. Through our partnership with the private sector and with support from other government agencies, my team and I launched our recovery plan to rebuild the tourism industry bigger and better.

Now, this is the part of the “blessing in disguise”, where the work of the Airline Development Committee really kicked in. Anthony, Nikko, Evan, and Nicole rolled up their sleeves and got to work. There was no easy way and there were no easy answers for how we would rebuild our airline routes. We had to knock on the doors of many airlines. We had to sell Belize and make new commitments to our old partners as well as to our new ones. Instead of drowning in our pandemic sorrows, we seized the opportunity that was presented with the chaos.

Over the last 24 months, we have racked up air miles traveling throughout North America, Europe, South America, and our immediate region. We have met with decision-makers in their offices and at major airline conferences. Over the last 24 months, we have had over 150 meetings with 38

Continued on page 17