Saturday, August 28, 2010

Belize Tourist Area to Cruise Ships: Stay Away

 The arrival of cruise ships in a tourist town can result in an economic windfall for local businesses. And yet not every waterside destination is pursuing them.

Case in point: The Caribbean hideaway of Placencia, Belize, which is making it more than clear it wants nothing to do with the 3,000-passenger giants of the seas that sail in the region.

The Placencia Tour Operators Association argued mass tourism from cruise ships would result in adverse effects on the area's fragile marine and inland environments such as coral reefs and fish and bird habitats.

This week the association sent out a detailed list of reasons why it thinks cruise tourism would be a disaster for the village and surrounding 26-mile-long sandy peninsula, which thrives on multi-day visitors who come for diving, snorkeling and beach-going in a relaxed, uncrowded atmosphere.

Read full story at USA Travel

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