By Alexander Britell
Belize is booming.
The Caribbean destination is off to a blazing start in 2016, according to the latest numbers from the Belize Tourism Board.
The country reported a 24 percent year-over-year increase in stayover visitors in January, followed by an 18.4 percent increase in stayover visitors in 2015.
The increase was reflected in 7,416 visitors in January and 5,800 visitors in January, with overall totals of 38,274 arrivals in January, 37,624 arrivals in February and 43,063 arrivals in March.
For the first quarter overall, the country reported a 16.9 percent increase in overnight tourist arrivals, making it the fastest-growing destination in the Caribbean in 2016.
Above: the Coco Beach Resort in Belize
Since June last year, the country has shown positive growth in tourist arrivals for 10 months in a row.
After a slow start in 2015, the country saw stayover growth of 6.2 percent last year, with a total of 341,124 visitors, drawn to a mix of eco-tourism and classic sun and sea tourism, with a diverse mix of hotels like the Cayo Espanto private island resort (pictured at cover).