Belize’s Military Tourism Vision Still Struggling to Take Off a Decade Later

Back in 2016, the idea of placing a stronger focus on military tourism had emerged within the Belize Defence Force.  Ten years later, however, the concept has yet to fully take off as a formal sector within Belize’s economy and national security framework. At the time, then Brigadier General David Jones spoke of the potential for Belize to market its jungles and terrain as a premier destination for international military training exercises.  In a November 2016 interview, Jones explained that Belize’s tropical environment and dense jungle conditions offered unique opportunities for foreign military units seeking specialized combat and survival training that could not easily be replicated in their home countries. He also pointed to the potential economic benefits that could come from hosting overseas military personnel for extended training programmes.

Brig. Gen. David Jones, Former Commander, Belize Defence Force: “We’ve got a jungle warfare instructor course that has been running for over 20 years now. But I wanted to reach a stage of a much higher level, where we have international visitors coming in specifically to do jungle training here in Belize, and we’re moving in that direction. For the first time we’ve had training done for the United States Special Forces. We’re training members of the U.S. Special Forces. We’re training members of the U.S. Marines on our jungle courses. We’re training the Germans now on our jungle courses. So we’re going to open the school even bigger come next year, because one of the biggest factor in having this school well-established is having helicopter support. So our pilots are being trained now. And they’re going to complete their training on the two Huey helicopters that we’ve got. That is coming along fine. Our pilots are now flying the aircraft on their own. They’re learning different techniques how to operate them in different terrain in particular in jungle terrain. And by June next year our pilots would be fully functional in operating these helicopters for us. And then from then onwards we can have a larger international base of guests to come in and do jungle training in Belize and that’s where the military tourism will occur because we’re selling Belize as a destination for jungle training. And there are a lot of militaries around the world, including the Dutch, the Norwegians, who are now showing interest to come to Belize to do jungle training. So we’re going to be pretty busy after the school is established.”

Nearly a decade later, Brigadier General Anthony Velasquez says the Belize Defence Force (BDF) continues to welcome foreign militaries interested in utilizing Belize’s terrain for training exercises, even though the concept of military tourism has not yet evolved into a structured industry.  He explained that interest from partner nations remains present, particularly because Belize continues to offer one of the most suitable jungle warfare environments in the region. 

Anthony Velasquez, Commander, Belize Defence Force: “The idea still exists. So since that time, the outreach, because you know we had COVID just a few years ago and that significantly stopped or slowed down those efforts. However, since then training has been happening and militaries have been training in Belize but however it has been through BATSUB through the British Army Training Support Unit that they have been coming here to train. However, that’s not to say that we haven’t extended invitations to other militaries to come to Belize to train. So we have extended invitation to the Louisiana National Guard and they’re looking into it, into the feasibility. We have extended invitation to the Canadians and many other militaries, to the Barbadians, to Jamaicans as well. And they’re all looking into the feasibility of that and we will see where that goes. But yeah, it’s still on the table. And should they wish to come here to train then we will do our best to facilitate that.”

According to Velasquez, these training partnerships not only strengthen diplomatic and security ties but also provide valuable experience for Belizean soldiers who train alongside international forces in field operations and jungle warfare scenarios.