Business Opportunities in Belize

Belize has a total area of 8,867 square miles and an estimated population of 313,000 inhabitants (according to the 2010 Belize Census). Belize has an open, private sector led economy based primarily on agriculture, tourism, and services. Tourism remains the nation’s largest foreign exchange earner. Bona fide tourist arrivals for 2012 amounted to 917,869, up from 888,191 in 2011. 277,135 were overnight tourists arriving at the international airport, and 640,734 were from cruise ship arrivals. Annual tourist expenditures average approximately 22% of GDP, ranging between $220 million to $260 million per annum. In addition to tourism revenue, Belize’s gross exports for 2012 amounted to $340.4 million comprised of Crude Petroleum (27.4%), Citrus (24%), Sugar (15.8%), Banana (13.9%), Marine products (8.4%), Papaya (2.3%), Sawn Wood (1.4%), among others. Belize is a consumer nation and relies heavily on imports. Belize’s Gross Imports for 2012 totaled $881.9, up from $832.6 million in 2011. Considering Belize’s total gross exports of $340.4, this means that for 2012 Belize traded at a deficit of $541.5 million (up from $487 million deficit in 2011).