Sept / Oct 2016 | Business View Caribbean

56 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 57 providers of guided fishing tours, trips to the Blue Hole, the Reef... everyone offering services to tourists.” Officially, “the BTIA is an umbrella organization for the tourism industry’s private sector with a mandate to ad- vocate on behalf of its members for the benefit of the tourism industry by influencing the outcomes of public policy and resource allocation decisions by the govern- ment, specifically for tourism.” Today, the Association has representation on almost every government, legis- lative, advisory, consultative, and licensing committee. As a direct result of BTIA’s advocacy efforts, tourism is front and center on the list of government priorities. Member perks BTIA membership numbers have climbed to 600, cov- ering six categories – three each for Personal and Busi- ness members. Burgos notes, “Membership is open to any stakeholder in the tourism industry. Hotel and resort owners, tour operators, tour guides - we even have chocolate companies and artisans that develop souvenirs. Also, any student studying tourism can be- come a member.” Benefits well exceed the annual membership fee. They include generous discounts on training, voting at the AGM, and marketing opportunities such as website listings and reduced advertising rates. In addition, member-to-member discounts from tourism-related companies throughout Belize are especially attractive. The value of advocacy on behalf of members is price- less. According to Burgos, “We advocate directly for our members on issues that the government sees as important to promoting tourism. Anything that is going to contradict us in any way, we stand up side-by-side with the government to decide the best way forward.” One such issue is the sustainable development of lo- cal infrastructure; something the tourism sector touts as crucial to future growth. The Association is led by a membership-elected Board of Directors that represents all ten BTIA chapters, one from each district, country-wide. Board members elect their own President, who sits for two years. The Secre- tariat, under Executive Director Burgos, has a perma- nent staff of three (Event & Marketing Manager, Mem- bership Officer, and Accountant). Do you have an app for that? Tourism is currently the country’s number one sector in terms of revenue generation and employment. Over-