- Contributed
Belize's Minister of Tourism, Mark Espat, cuts the ribbon to officially launch Air Jamaica's arrival into Belize City. He is being assisted by (L-R) Delta Airline's Steve Jensen, William Rodgers, Senior Vice President, Air Jamaica, Allen Chastenet, Vice President, Marketing, Air Jamaica and Belize's Director of Tourism, Tracey Tagar.
Janet Silvera, Freelance Writer
Belize City, Belize:
JAMAICA'S NATIONAL airline, Air Jamaica, has added close to 40,000 additional airline seats to the aviation industry of one of the fastest rising tourism destinations in the Caribbean - Belize.
The airline parked its rainbow coloured A321 aircraft in style, on the tarmac of the richly embedded Mayan city, making history on its inaugural flight to the Central American country on Thursday afternoon.
"Airline seats are the true life-blood of any destination, especially one that hopes to be competitive, and so we are very upbeat, very optimistic and very excited about this true partnership," remarked an enthusiastic Mark Espat, Belizean Minister of Tourism.
He was speaking at a welcome reception for the large contingent of journalists and travel agents that journeyed to the only English-speaking nation in Central America.
According to him, tourism, which represents 18 per cent of the country's GDP generated US$130 million last year, and Air Jamaica's presence will lead to more sustainable overnight tourism. The airline's advent means the country can now increase its tourism revenue by an average US$15million-$20 million annually.
Echoed at the welcome reception was the invaluable link that is being provided to Belize and its sister CARICOM countries.
"Time is more important now than ever before for there to be a link, and the region is truly coming to understand that we are not each other's competitor," said Air Jamaica's Vice President of Marketing, Allen Chastenet.
Chastenet, the 'unofficial' ambassador of the region, used the platform to relay the message of the importance of the region becoming one.
"The opportunity of us coming together and taking some more market share in the world is tremendous," he remarked.
Air Jamaica's entry into Belize will allow passengers from the 12 United States cities in which it operates to have same day service to Belize City from its hub in Montego Bay.
"We will operate four flights per week in collaboration with Delta Airlines, so passengers travelling from New York, Chicago, Washington or Miami, will get into Belize by 2:00 p.m., on those flight days," boasted Chastenet.
The country is twice the size of Jamaica with a population of a mere 250,000 people, made up of a diversity of cultures creole, mestizo, Maya, Menonite and Garinagu which intermingled to form the magic of Belize.
