Tourism in Belize continues to boom, according to the destination’s latest arrival data.
For the first nine months of 2016, Belize reported 293,622 stayover arrivals, a 16.4 percent increase over the same period in 2015 — making it one of the Caribbean’s fastest-growing tourism destinations.
The Cayo Espanto private-island resort in Belize.
The country has seen 15 consecutive months of record-breaking overnight arrival growth after what had been a sluggish start to 2015, according to the Belize Tourism Board.
The boom has been led by visitors from the United States, who accounted for 67.4 percent of market share, followed by visitors from Canada and Europe.
El Secreto in Belize.
Belize finished off the third quarter with 26.9 percent growth in September, with 18,115 overnight arrivals.
The surge in tourist growth has come in part due to new flights from American Airlines, United and Southwest Airlines in the last two years.
— Caribbean Journal Staff