Belize Invests in Infrastructure to Boost Growth Potential
IMF News, November 5, 2025
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- Authors: Ziad Amer
- Published: November 5, 2025
Tourism reliance and infrastructure bottlenecks
- Belize’s economy is highly reliant on tourism, which directly contributes about 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
- In 2024, Belize received over half a million “stayover” tourists, growing by 18 percent relative to 2023.
- Three quarters of stayover visitors arrived in the country’s only international airport in Belize City, which has hotel capacity for only about a fifth of them.
- Although overall room capacity is sufficient according to the IMF’s estimates, the geographic distribution of hotels does not align with the most popular touristic sites, creating additional bottlenecks (long drives or boat rides).
Air transport and operational capacity constraints
- Flights to Belize are already close to capacity (compared to other countries in the region), indicating that a future surge in stayover visitors could encounter:
- airport terminal capacity limits;
- airlines’ limited ability to quickly add more flights.
Planned diversification and infrastructure investments
- Government and private initiatives cited include:
- eliminating border fees for short-stay Mexican visitors;
- planned development of a new airport in the resort island of San Pedro;
- potential international airport in Placencia in the south;
- modernization of the Port of Belize;
- the Tren Maya, which would connect Mexico and Guatemala through Belize, enhancing regional mobility and expanding tourism capacity.
Access to finance for private sector expansion
- Belize’s banks hold ample liquidity and capital and thus have the capacity to support tourism and related expansion.
- Despite bank capacity, access to financing remains challenging for many businesses.
- Government and central bank initiatives aim to:
- increase formalization of firms;
- expand the range of assets firms can use as guarantees for loans.
Labor force trends and female participation
- Labor force participation has declined from 65 percent of the working age population before the pandemic to 57 percent in 2024.
- Female participation is particularly low: only just about half of women are in the workforce, compared to three quarters of the male working age population — one of the highest gender gaps in the Caribbean.
- IMF estimates suggest that fully closing the gender participation gap could boost GDP by over 20 percent in the long run.
Policy actions and recommendations highlighted
- To unlock tourism growth and overall economic potential, recommended and ongoing actions include:
- boosting investment in infrastructure to address tourism capacity constraints;
- expanding financing to the private sector through measures that increase firm formalization and broaden acceptable loan collateral;
- creating more opportunities for the labor force, with particular emphasis on increasing female participation by:
- raising educational levels;
- reducing salary disparities and addressing higher unemployment among women;
- improving access to affordable, high-quality childcare to reduce economic and logistical barriers;
- expanding access to childcare and training programs;
- promoting entrepreneurship and fostering job placement.
Ziad Amer, Bunyada Laoprapassorn, and Shane Lowe; IMF News, November 5, 2025.