Tourists and local visitors to archaeological sites in Belize will soon benefit from the implementation of Health and Safety Standards at Belize’s archaeological sites under the Making Tourism Benefit Communities Adjacent to Archaeological Sites (MTBCAAS) project.
The project is funded under the Belize Rural Development Programme (BRDP), supported by the European Union and the Government of Belize. The new Health and Safety Standards was signed into law as mandatory standards by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Investment and Consumer Protection on May 27, 2014 and gazetted on May 31, 2014.
The Making Tourism Benefit Communities Adjacent to Archaeological Sites (MTBCAAS) project is being implemented by the Belize Tourism Board and the National Institute of Culture and History. The objectives of the project are:
• To improve economic opportunities in rural communities and contribute to the reduction of poverty;
• To enhance the tourism experience through improvements in tourism infrastructure and services at selected sites.
The project intends to achieve three main sets of results:
Results One: Improve the monitoring systems at archaeological sites;
Results Two: Improve health and safety provisions and infrastructure at archaeological sites;
Results Three: Enhance the diversification of community based tourism products and services offered at archaeological sites in Belize.
The MTBCAAS Project targets communities adjacent to the following nine archaeological sites:
Xunantunich Nohoch Che’en (Caves’ Branch) Nim Li Punit
Barton Creek Altun Ha Lubaantun
Actun Tunichil Muknal Lamanai Blue Creek
The new Health and Safety Standards will ensure that visitors to our archaeological sites have the most safe and enjoyable experience at these sites, so that they will return home and speak positively about their experiences, thereby attracting more visitors and increasing the tourism dollars being spent in Belize. The development of the Health and Safety Standards for archaeological sites will also ensure that future infrastructural and maintenance measurements, as well as the services being provided at archaeological sites are guided by the highest best practices.
The Health and Safety Standards provide the minimum requirements for health and safety at archaeological reserves, which include terrestrial and cave sites. It provides guidance to individuals and enterprises, including community-based and tourism organisations, when visiting archaeological reserves in Belize.
The Health and Safety Standards were created through the work of a Tourism Technical Committee under the auspices of the Belize Bureau of Standards (BBS) and comprised of officials from the BBS, Belize Tourism Board (BTB), National Institute of Culture and History (NICH), the Ministry of Health, non-governmental organizations and private agencies which include the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA) and the Association of Cruise Ship Service Providers, respectively. The Standards were first approved by the Belize Standards Advisory Council and recommended by the Council to the Minister of Trade, Industry, Investment and Consumer Protection for his declaration as mandatory health and safety standards for archaeological sites.
The MTBCAAS Project was launched in March 2013 and is made possible with grant funding of BZ$2.75m from the European Union and the Government of Belize under the Belize Rural Development Programme (BRDP) and BZ$1.25 contribution from the Belize Tourism Board and, the National Institute of Culture and History for a total estimated cost of BZ$4 million. It is being implemented over 24 month period and scheduled to be completed in November 2014.