Belize to Host Sustainable Tourism Conference in San Pedro

Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler has announced that Belize will host the next Sustainable Tourism Conference in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The conference, titled “Tourism in Full Color,” will bring together Caribbean tourism stakeholders to explore what Mahler described as the “green, blue, and orange economy.” Highlighting Belize’s remarkable natural and cultural assets, he noted that many Caribbean nations remain largely unaware of what the country has to offer, pointing to Belize’s world-class attractions, including the barrier reef and ancient Maya pyramids. Mahler stated, what is making the case that Belize packs an extraordinary range of experiences into a small geographic footprint.

Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism: “From the 27th of April to the 30th of April under the theme “Tourism in full colour.” It’s unleashing the green, blue and orange economy and we have a lot to showcase in Belize. Many Caribbean people still don’t know enough about Belize and so we want to share this with you. Belize has the second largest barrier reef in the world after Australia. We have three of the four atolls in the western hemisphere. We have the Great Blue Hole. We have about 250 to 300 offshore islands. We have the history of the Maya civilization. We have about 35 rivers, mountains, a rich rainforest just like the Amazon, we have our own version of that. And so, you don’t have to go to Australia to have great diving or snorkeling. You don’t have to go to Egypt to see pyramids and you don’t have to go to New York or Miami or LA or any of those cities to have a diversity of people. We have all of that packaged in such a small piece of real estate in Belize. And so we have focused on sustainable development throughout tourism history for the last 50 years or so and that has been the core eco-adventure is still at the core of what we do every day. If you just look at the make-up of our product we have about 1200 different types of accommodation with about 12,000 rooms. And so the average size of a property in Belize is 10 rooms. And so its community-based sustainability at its core.”

Minister Mahler also emphasized that sustainable, community-rooted tourism has been the foundation of Belize’s approach to the industry for the past five decades. He noted that eco-adventure tourism remains central to the country’s identity, and that the structure of the tourism sector itself reflects this commitment. The conference is expected to serve as a platform for Belize to share its model with Caribbean neighbors while strengthening regional cooperation on sustainable tourism practices.