Above: Belize

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Belize received 321,217 stopover tourist arrivals in 2014, according to year-end data released by the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

The Central American country on the coast of the Caribbean Sea saw a strong 9.2 percent improvement compared to 2013.

That made Belize among the fastest-growing destinations in the Caribbean region, surpassed only by the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Grenada, Haiti and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Belize’s totals were buoyed by a strong winter season that was 12.4 percent higher than the same period in 2013.

On the cruise side, Belize saw a significant growth rate of 42.9 percent that was also among the highest in the region.

In total, 677,350 cruise passengers stepped foot in Belize.