Tourism officials say U.S. Government shutdown hasn’t affected arrivals
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 10, 2025
While service providers in Belize’s tourism industry are apprehensive about the United States government shutdown having ripple effects on Belize’s tourism industry as we enter the high season, officials point to reports from carriers indicating no international schedule disruptions, and affirm that Belize has not been affected to date.
The U.S. government is into its longest shutdown in history, having entered day 40 today. It started on October 1st over a Congress stalemate regarding funding negotiations. Prior to this, the longest shutdown lasted 35 days, beginning in December 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term. That impasse stemmed from a dispute over funding for the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. It ended only after widespread disruptions, including to air travel. This time, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated flight reductions at 40 of the country’s 503 major airports to ensure safety, as air traffic controllers increasingly report absent. Many have been working without pay. The cutbacks started Friday and are meant to reduce air traffic by 10% in the high-volume markets.
The flight cutbacks are incremental and started at 4%. On Tuesday they will go up to 6%, and by November 14, they are expected to reach 10%. On Sunday alone, more than 2,800 domestic cancellations and over 10,000 flight delays were reported, affecting hundreds of thousands of travellers. Of the 40 airports impacted by the FAA directive, 15 currently offer scheduled service to Belize.
Understandably, those who work in Belize’s tourism sector are uneasy. Efren Perez, President of the Belize Tourism Industry Association (BTIA), says the situation underscores the urgent need for both industry stakeholders and Government to diversify Belize’s tourism markets given that, as things currently stand, the majority of tourists to Belize hail from the U.S. Perez believes that the furlough of workers in the aviation industry (now roughly impacting a quarter of the FAA workforce) “will have a direct impact on our industry…”
Perez believes Belize must look to the Central American region and capitalize on existing airline connections. “Guatemala has flights coming in from Europe; so does Honduras; so does Salvador; so does Panama. We do have connections to these airports,” he said. Perez also pointed to “Mexico next door.” He added that the BTIA is in conversations with the Ministry of Tourism and the Belize Tourism Board in order to start looking “at avenues in which we would be able to provide the industry with the tools necessary for them to take advantage of these new markets.”
Perez called the situation unprecedented, and believes it will create a shortfall in revenue for the tourism industry at the start of the high season. Commenting on Belize’s tourism figures for 2025, Perez said there have been ups and downs tied to global factors, including fallout from Trump’s trade wars and broader economic uncertainty. He added that, while September typically sees a return of diaspora Belizeans, this year’s numbers were affected by concerns regarding ICE. For his part, Minister of Tourism Anthony Mahler has reported that the 2025 tourism figures thus far are tracking closely with the figures for 2024.
Today, Director of Civil Aviation, Nigel Carter told Amandala that the airlines have not indicated any reduction in flights to Belize so far. Meanwhile, Director of Tourism, Evan Tillett indicated that they are in communication with the international carriers to assess if there will be any major adverse impacts on Belize’s tourism industry, and they have received some feedback. He added that they have seen correspondence from United Airlines, one of the five largest U.S. carriers flying to Belize, and they have indicated that international flights will not be impacted by the disruption. When we asked Tillett if U.S. domestic flight cancellations will lead tourists to cancel their trips to Belize, he responded, “We have not seen any impact thus far, and the arrivals for November via the PGIA has been robust and in line with projections.”
United expanded its service to Belize on November 1st with direct flights from Denver, Chicago, Newark and Houston. In a statement on its website it confirms that no international flights will be affected by the shutdown, as flights that connect its hub airports in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco and Washington will not be impacted.
Late on Sunday, the U.S. Senate voted to advance a bill aimed at ending the government shutdown. However, even it if passes the Senate, it will require approval from the House of Representatives before it can be signed by the president. That’s a process that could take several days, and some observers believe it could stretch into Thanksgiving, which falls on November 27.
