If Love be the Fruit of our Tourism

“R

 omance” is officially an item on our tourism platter, but is it something that is palatable to visitors?  Belize is mostly associated with adventure, outdoor exploits, and its pristine natural environment.  Without a doubt, it is easy to fall in love with the natural beauty of Belize, but coming here for love is something very different. Or is it? Can “romance” be merged with nature and adventure? The answer is, yes it can and it has. More and more visitors are planning their engagements, weddings, and anniversaries here. Our tourism product has expanded to include romance because our tourism stakeholders and tourism workers have expanded their services and their skillset.  The kind of romantic setting that Belize has to offer might be slightly different but that is a good thing. Destinations and countries better known for romance tend to be places like Florence, Venice, Paris, Santorini, or the Swiss Alps. And maybe we all think of romantic places as having old architecture, iconic landmarks, lots of wine and art, and maybe misty semi-cold weather.  Belize is offering high adventure, high outdoor, and high experiential romance. You can say our brand of romance has a kick to it. We are not the first to merge adventure with our romance tourism, but now that it’s officially on the platter, there is a lot that we can do with it.

Romance can be ambiguous at times but beauty is mostly straightforward. Belize is a beautiful, fun, adventurous, and dreamy place.  We have sand, sunsets, serenity, and the sort of slow pace that makes it easy for people to become more in touch with their feelings. Whether it is falling in love with a part of the country or using the country as a prop for love, Belize is definitely easy on the eyes and the heart. A recent piece about chef Rob Pronk on CBS Morning show, The Dish, proves just how alluring Belize can be. Chef Pronk grew up in Holland and worked in top restaurants all over Europe. Twenty-four years ago he visited Belize and never left. Today he owns a restaurant in Hopkins and says that “Belize is special, the people are special, and life can be as simple as you want it to be…everything that you need is here.”  Countless people have come to Belize and have never left. Belize can feel like home no matter where you grew up. When it comes to romance, Belize offers a similar feeling. Our intimate, exquisite, and luxuriously natural environment can easily convert adventure locations into love locals that would make Cupid jealous. Some of our unique locations for weddings include the rainforest, island sandbars, under-world caves, and ancient Maya temples. Honeymooners have their pick of resorts, restaurants, and relaxation experiences. Belize’s beauty, people, and cultures are all about love.

In Belize, love really is in the air. It is also in our pristine beaches, beautiful reef, dense rainforest, clean water, and scenic landscape. We do not have the Eiffel Tower or gondolas gliding through a canal but we have a world heritage site and turquoise sea waters that are better experienced by getting in it rather than gliding on it. For this matter, this week we highlight the “escapism” in our tourism. This –ism is for all the travelers who come here and love it enough to stay and for those who feel that their love would be best experienced here.  It is for all of those who come here to escape in adventure and romance. Romance is not entirely new in our tourism but it is an offer that we hope the industry becomes more intimate with – pun intended.

See you next week.

The Belize Tourism Board