The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) “quietly” announced the start date of Phase 4 of the Belize Reopening Plan for January 2021.
BTB updated the Belize Travel Reopening Plan infograph on their website, but the Government of Belize (GoB) hasn’t made an official statement to confirm this date.
In addition, the Belize Tourism Association (BTIA) raised recommendations to re-examine the current reopening strategy.
Phase 4 of the Belize Travel Reopening Plan
“Phase 4” of the reopening plan for Belize will allow for full reopening of the overnight tourism sector and lift the restrictions of the “safe corridor” during Phase 3.
Many Caye Caulker Residents Disappointed
January would be a stretch, though, as Caye Caulker business owners were hoping to fully reopen before the Thanksgiving holiday or the latest in December before Christmas. Christmas and New Years time is some of the busiest times of the year on the island.
With most businesses closed since March, meaning no income for more than 6 months now, people are getting impatient, if not desperate.
Over the last 5+ months, the Caye Caulker Soup Kitchen served more than 46,000 meals to island residents in need. “A week and a half from now [by October 2, 2020], on the last day of our daily meal program, we will have provided over 46,000 hot meals and over 37,000 second meal items (fruit, bread, meat pies, etc.),” the Soup Kitchen posted on Facebook. And this is in addition to months of meals provided by a second soup kitchen, the Hands Of Love Foundation!
Many island residents and business owners seem to be disappointed and upset, and opinions are strong on this reopening date. “January??? Are you insane? You just killed off all hope to those that have endured 6 months unemployment. So many will lose their homes and businesses because of this,” one Facebook post states. And most of the almost 100 comments agree with this statement. “I feel like crying,” one of the comments reads.
Belize Tourism Industry Association Asking To Examine Strategy
The tourism sector has the support of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) that recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Rt Hon Dean Barrow.
BTIA asked to “take a step back and examine whether we are on the right track” and “determine whether the strategy conceived in the early days of the pandemic is still the right one.”
In this letter, BTIA is posing the question, “Whom are we trying to protect?” All tourists are required to provide a negative PCR test or take a test at the airport at their own expense; yet, the vast majority of Belizeans remain untested. At the same time, Belizean hotel guests are allowed to stay at the same Gold Standard hotels as foreign tourists. And while foreign visitors are confined to their hotels, local tourists are allowed to roam around and socialize outside of their accommodations.
With these and a few other questions in mind, the BTIA made the following recommendations for consideration by the National Oversight Committee:
- Simplify the arrival process by processing visitors with a negative test just like normal or perform a rapid test with the results provided on the spot.
- Rethink the need for pre-arrival communication and download of an app.
- Allow foreign visitors who are confirmed COVID-19-free full freedom of movement around the country, but require them to abide by the same COVID-19 health and safety protocols that Belizeans are mandated to follow.
- Require that all tourism service providers meet the requirements for Gold Standard certification in order to operate freely.
- Implementation of a major campaign to enforce existing mask wearing and social distancing rules for locals and tourists alike.
So, What's Next?
We will see how the Government of Belize will respond to BTIA’s recommendations. And since neither the GoB nor the BTB have made any official statements regarding the January reopening date, there’s still hope that this date and the current strategy may change – hopefully for the better!
