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media type="custom" key="4322623"Belize Notes
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This page is the on deck collection of miscellaneous notes related to Belize's environment and tourism, much of this copied (and linked) to source materials.

Environment
Belize has more than 300 species of orchids, including the black orchid which is the national flower.

Festivals

 * [|Belize's Renowned Celebrations]**
 * Belize City, Belize – August 14, 2009** – Given that each year an estimated 10 million people travel internationally solely to partake in festivals worldwide, it's no surprise that Belize sees an influx in travelers during some of its most popular cultural celebrations. In fact, two of Belize's largest festivals, Lobster Fest and Costa Maya, bring in more than 17,000 travelers to the country each year. Regardless of the festivity, however, each event is a distinct opportunity to commemorate Belize's heritage, and allows tourists to entirely immerse themselves in and learn about the Belizean way of life.

"//Our events and festivals give visitors great insight into who we are as a country, and play a major role in our tourism industry as well//" stated Tracy Panton, Director of Tourism. " //We invite travelers to join in on our celebrations, as it allows them to truly become one with Belize//." With an array of events and festivals celebrated throughout the year, the selection of themes, cuisine, music and entertainment are endless. The following is a list of Belizean festivals happening between now and the beginning of next year: San Antonio's Deer Dance Festival is a celebration of Christian and ancient Mayan culture. The day is filled with the sounds of homemade harps, and a reenactment of a deer chase is performed with local actors. Visit @http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=23926. The Taste of Belize has become a signature culinary event, uncovering the finest cuisine and bartending expertise in Belize. Top talents compete for various titles, as they showcase their skills. Visit @http://www.tasteofbelize.com/. To celebrate St. George's Caye Day, ceremonies, festivals, parades and a reenactment on the actual site take place solemnizing the battle in 1798, when the Spanish were defeated by slaves, Baymen and British soldiers. Carnivals, sporting activities, a fire engine parade, and pop concerts are held several days prior to this event as well. Visit @http://www.sanpedrosun.net/old/05-371.html. Commencing with the raising of the Belizean flag, Belize celebrates its independence from Great Britain. Locals and visitors honor the day with nation-wide parades and festivities, flag-raising ceremonies, sporting events and the crowning of Miss San Pedro. Visit http://www.belizenet.com/history/chap14.html or @http://www.septembercelebrations.com/. In celebration of Columbus Day/ Pan American Day, districts throughout Belize host a range of events. Belize City features Regatta racing, the Cayo District hosts the Hike & Bike for the Rain Forest, and in Orange Walk and Corozal, fiestas and beauty contests are held. Visit @http://sanpedrosun.net/old/98-391.html. Each November, Southern Belize's Dangriga celebrates the first arrival of the Garifuna people to Belize in 1832. Garifuna Settlement Day's main event is "Yurumei," which is an early morning re-enactment of the Garifuna arriving by boat to the Dangrigan shores. Visit @http://www.belizeans.com/garifuna.htm. Township Day celebrates San Pedro's declaration as a town by the Belize Government. The local government town board organizes annual events, including boat races, fishing tournaments, parades, musical entertainment and a festival to celebrate the occasion. Visit []. Belize's carnival is observed the week before Ash Wednesday, during a time when locals and visitors can indulge in life's sweet pleasures before giving them up for lent. Belizeans create beautiful costumes, parades, songs and engage in traditional dances and competitions. Visit @http://www.belizeanjourneys.com/features/carnival/newsletter.html. To celebrate commencement of the lobster season, festivals take place in Belize's beach towns of San Pedro, Placencia and Caye Caulker, and feature exquisite lobster cuisine, tournaments, music and entertainment. These fests are some of Belize's most popular, and the San Pedro Lobster Fest was named one of the 300 greatest events in the world by //Frommers// and //Whats on When//. For information on the San Pedro Lobster Fest visit, @http://sanpedrolobsterfest.com/. Information on the Placencia Lobster Fest can be found at @http://placencia.com or find them on Facebook at @http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=83490631893. At the end of July and into August, the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts hosts the annual Belize International Film Festival. The event includes showings of feature length fiction, narrative and documentary films, as well as short fiction and documentaries. Visit www.belizefilmfestival.com. San Pedro's Costa Maya Festival is a celebration of the five Mundo Maya countries: Belize, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, and an exhibit of each destinations culture, talents and cuisine. Visit @http://costamayafestival.com/index.html.
 * Deer Dance Festival (August 24 – 26, 2009)**
 * Taste of Belize (August 29, 2009)**
 * St. George's Caye Day (September 1, 2009)**
 * Independence Day (September 21, 2009)**
 * Columbus Day/Pan American Day (October 12, 2009)**
 * Garifuna Settlement Day (November 19, 2009)**
 * Township Day (November 27, 2009)**
 * Carnival (February 2010)**
 * Lobster Festivals (June 25 – 27, 2010)**
 * International Film Festival (July/August 2010)**
 * Costa Maya Festival (August 2010)**

Tourism Industry Notes
**[|Tourist arrivals down by an average of 2.5% - Channel5 Belize]** Preliminary tourism figures are in for 2008 and as we have been suspecting all along, the news is not good. Overall, there was a two point five percent reduction, with the Philip Goldson International Airport recording a whopping nine point three percent less arrivals in December. And that wasn’t even the worst month for 2008 at the airport as September saw a fifteen percent in decrease, while in October that number increased to almost sixteen percent. The international airport is the main port of entry for United States visitors and the financial crisis that country is experiencing is reflecting in the lack of travel. The good news in the raw data is that there were increases in arrivals at all points in January at seven point four percent, and some smaller upwards movements in February, March, April, and July helped to somewhat lessen the blow. Today Director of Product Development Laura Esquivel told News Five that while the stats are not great, Belize is faring better than some of its Caribbean counterparts. The B.T.B. is also courting at the European and Canadian markets to make up for the U.S. shortfall.

//“Our market is made up primarily of the American tourists, a little over sixty percent.”//
 * Laura Esquivel, Director of Product Development**

“Does this forecast similar for 2009? What are you all expecting?”
 * Kendra Griffith**

//“Well, we are looking at our figures right now and what we are seeing is that we are having increases in the Canadian market which we’re hoping to kind of promote and to help us offset some of the losses that we’re gonna see in the American market. We’re also seeing some positiveness when you come to the European markets. Our representatives have just finished a show in the UK and are on to a show in Brussels to promote the European market coming into Belize. We have just completed a show in New York also that kinda hits both the American and the Canadian market at the same time. We’re doing a lot of press work also with the American markets and the European markets to try and get those in to sort of offset. But, of course, we are still doing our work in the American market. We are looking at new airline alliances, we have an Aviation Development Committee working on that right now. They are currently in negotiations with up to four airlines to bring new routes into Belize. We are looking at routes from Cancun, Canada, closer to South America and of course the European route. We need to work on all our routes to get everybody in at the same time.”//
 * Laura Esquivel**

In 2007 Belize's industry earned over $590.4 million from traveler expenditure, thus making tourism one of the country's primary economic pillars.

Investment

Belize does not have an estate tax or capital gains tax. Investment in Belize is actively encouraged and many investment incentives are presently being offered to entice foreign investment in Belize.