And, we also asked the Prime Minister - whether tourism - which much of the new strategy is built around - is resilient enough to form the backbone of the Belizean economy, Here's how he answered that:
Jules Vasquez- Reporter
"The second point about tourism, most of the profits never make it onshore. We know this, and you all will know it far better than I. The bookings, they all remain in foreign bank accounts, the ownership of so many of the hotels and resorts are foreign individuals or corporations. So that, this great golden calf of tourism which this economic recovery strategy speaks so much about is really a mirage. It creates a lot of low to middle income jobs at best."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow- Prime Minister
"Of course, tourism as an enterprise and as our mainstay is not perfect. There are some of the problems to which you alluded, in terms of there being a great deal of foreign investment in the hotel sector and foreign owners apart from repatriation doing bookings abroad and so a lot of money doesn't make it to our country. But even with that huge drawback, I repeat, tourism has been in fact an absolutely wonderful mainstay of our economy."
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