Accident at sea claims 1 life...

Reports are that at approximately 7:30pm, November 15, 2009, two vessels collided at sea in the White Sands Cove area, North Ambergris Caye. The boats involved were those of Sueño Del Mar and Coastal Xpress Water Taxi. Police have confirmed that 1 person has died and another has been critically injured. All other persons involved also sustained various injuries and are being treated.

(Two points of impact on the Sueño Del Mar Boat)

A crowd gathers to render assistance.

The San Pedro Sun will have more details as they become available...

The Coastal Xpress boat that was involved in the accident.

EcoFriendly Solutions - an environmentally friendly option

EcoFriendly Solutions was on hand at the Ambergris Caye Chamber of Commerce (ACCC) meeting on Thursday, showing their line of products guaranteed to help the environmental efforts of the islanders. Garbage is at the forefront of the issues that plague the island and with their new products, which are guaranteed to (bio)degrade [in perfect conditions] within a span of 45-90 days, that issue can now be controlled.
Look for more exciting details in next week's issue of The San Pedro Sun.

Caye International Bank Inaugurates New Bank Building

Members of the community were invited to attend an official ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate the new Caye International Bank building. A reception followed, welcoming the participants of the "The 'Cayes' to Wealth & Financial Security Conference".

SP Lions Club to spearhead Radio-thon for Salvador Ida victims

Responding to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ida, government agencies and private enterprises in El Salvador are trying to re-establish communications, utilities, and roads damaged by landslides and flooding in the Central American nation. The Government of El Salvador has made an international call for assistance and aid targeted for the devastated areas of El Salvador.

Some 37 villages and towns in El Salvador remain isolated by rockslides and debris left behind by the hurricane, which killed some 140 people. Dozens of Salvadorans remain unaccounted for as searchers look through rubble and devastated homes. The San Pedro Lions Club with the help of Reef Radio is conducting a Radio-ton on Saturday, November 14th. Belizeans can respond to the call of our Central American brothers in El Salvador by join in the Radio-ton by making pledges. However, people in Salvador in dire need of essential items as well such as, food, clothes and medication. Kindly bring these to the Lions Den.

BTB in Taiwan

The Belize Tourism Board was invited by the Embassy of Belize and CATO in Taiwan to attend TAIPEI'S INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FAIR (ITF). ITF took the stage from October 30th to November 2nd, 2009 with exhibitors from 58 Countries and Regions occupying 1,206 Booths in total. The venue was Tapei's World Trade Center TWTC. It was attended by a total of 210,752 visitors. Following is the breakdown on the amount of visitors: Oct. 30 (Fri.) - Private + Trade Visitors - 45,956; Oct. 31 (Sat.) - Private Visitors - 63,052; Nov. 1 (Sun.) - Private Visitors - 66,137; Nov. 2 (Mon.) - Private + Trade Visitors -35,607.

Belize showcased its Reef, rainforest and ruins on a beautiful back drop with the theme "BE ONE WITH BELIZE". At the same time we showed our video with closed caption in Mandarin. BTB had Tourists offices, travel agents, wholesalers, government officials, transport operators and travel publishers visit our booth.

BTB also had the opportunity to meet with the Director of Tourism Mr. Kwang-Shoung Chao. We had a candid conversation where he was made aware of the attractions that Belize has to offer. He was amazed at our beaches, our history and our culture. He said "I want to go live in Belize"

During the travel mart days both Charge D' Affaires Mr. Efrain Novelo and Any Leiva, BTB representative were interviewed by the China Post and U Paper , two of the most widely read newspapers and Channel 52 and Next Magazine, two of Taiwan's major media outlets.
Taipei International Travel Fair is the biggest and the most important travel and tourism industry fair in Asia. It is the best place to maximize the efficiency of travel mart by having broad information on several destinations and schemes.