Like other tourism stakeholders, Tropic Air's profitability has taken a
nose dive due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the closure of Belize's
borders. The company's deputy director of operations briefly discussed
the very tough choices that the management has had to make to ensure
that the company can survive this crisis:
Ravei Nunez - Deputy Director of Operations, Tropic Air
"It's been difficult here at Tropic Air, like most stakeholders in the
tourism industry. We've seen declines in the range of 95% to the
business, to the revenues being brought in. Most, if not all, companies
by now have had to lay off employees. Without a clear date, without a
clear plan in sight. Other businesses are looking at further lay-offs
in the industry. At Tropic Air, we're trying to hold on as best as we
can. But, given the uncertainty in the industry, we don't know exactly
where we will be in a couple of weeks from now. The objective seems to
be to keep the country COVID-free, which comes at a high price. Tourism
represents 40% of our GDP, and significantly greater than in terms of %
of the foreign exchanges being brought into the country. Businesses are
already speaking out as to the impact it's having on them. The Tourism
stakeholders have, in private and public, made it clear where we are,
where we see us going [in the] medium to long term."
As we reported two weeks ago, the company was forced to lay off over
200 employees, some of whom had been working there for decades.
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