Above: Belize

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Belize’s tourism growth continued in the first half of 2014, according to new data from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The country received a total of 185,996 stopover tourist arrivals from January to June, an 11.8 percent improvement over the same period in 2013.

The winter season saw a 12.4 percent increase, while arrivals were up 10.6 percent so far in the summer tourist season, according to the data.

The country also welcomed 527,037 cruise passenger arrivals, a whopping 36.9 percent increase over the first six months of 2013, according to CTO data.

That was the largest increase of any destination with complete reporting through June.