Belize City -- May 14, 2008 – The Minister of Tourism, Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr., the Director of Tourism, Mrs. Tracy Panton and the Director of Marketing & Public Relations, Mrs. Shakira Oxley-Tsai, traveled to Nicaragua for regional meetings with the Sistema de la Integracion Centroamericana (SICA) and the Central American Tourism Council (CCT).

SICA’s objectives seek to develop and promote regional products related to the tourism cultural routes, introduce technical tools for planning and developing tourism at a national and regional level, strengthen promotion, marketing strategies and the Central American Tourism Agency (CATA) and support the small and medium sized tourism enterprises in seeking better opportunities for financing, training and promotion of regional supplies and products.

Minister Heredia also attended a Council meeting hosted by the Central American Tourism Council where recommendations for future plans for development of Central America as a destination were presented to the Ministers.

While in Nicaragua, the Director of Tourism, Tracy Panton and the Marketing Director, Shakira Oxley-Tsai, attended two technical meetings. At the Marketing Committee meeting, discussions centered on regional marketing, as well future marketing initiatives in the Central America and European markets were made. The Executive Committee looked at development projects and working with special international funding agencies to strengthen the regional tourism product in Europe and Asia.

“This was an excellent opportunity for Belize to reintroduce itself to the other Central American countries and reiterate its pledge to foster a relationship with SICA and CATA,” comments Tourism Minister, Manuel Heredia, Jr. “Our alliance will better serve to enhance Belize’s stated tourism objectives in the areas of marketing and product development.” Minister Heredia expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to network with his colleagues in Central America and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to regional tourism integration efforts.

For more information on the developments and events in Belize’s Tourism Industry, please contact the Marketing Department at the Belize Tourism Board at (501)-227-2420, via email: btbb@btl.net or visit our website www.belizetourism.org.