The Belize Coastal Tourism Project: an Assessment of the Environmental, Socio-Cultural and economic Impacts of Tourism in Coastal Communities in Belize

The purpose of the Belize Coastal Tourism Project was to assess the environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts of tourism in six coastal communities in Belize including Belize City, San Pedro, Caye Caulker, Placencia, Hopkins and San Pedro. In particular, the research was intended to improve our understanding of how to promote tourism that provides maximum benefits to local people, coastal communities, the nation and the marine environment while having minimal negative impacts upon them. Survey interviews were carried out with 403 local people (including fishermen, tour guides and random households) and 300 overnight and cruise ship tourists across the study communities during the period of March œ November 2005 by a researcher from the University of Rhode Island in collaboration with a team of Belizean research assistants.