CAP. 275, BELIZE TOURIST BOARD ACT BELIZE
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD ACT
CHAPTER 275
REVISED EDITION 2000
SHOWING THE LAW AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2000
This is a revised edition of the law, prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner
under the authority of the Law Revision Act, Chapter 3 of the Laws of Belize,
Revised Edition 1980 - 1990.
This edition contains a consolidation of the following laws- Page
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 3
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD ACT 5
Amendments in force as at 31st December, 2000.
BELIZE
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD ACT
CHAPTER 275
REVISED EDITION 2000
SHOWING THE LAW AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2000
This is a revised edition of the law, prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner
under the authority of the Law Revision Act, Chapter 3 of the Laws of Belize,
Revised Edition 1980 - 1990.
This edition contains a consolidation of the following laws- Page
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 3
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD ACT 5
Amendments in force as at 31st December, 2000.
THE SUBSTANTIVE LAWS OF BELIZE REVISED EDITION 2000
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the Government of Belize.
Belize Tourism Board [CAP. 275
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CHAPTER 275
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Establishment and composition of Board.
4. Chairman and Deputy Chairman.
5. Tenure of office of members.
6. Publication of appointments, removals, etc.
7. Incorporation.
8. Affixing seal and authentication of documents.
9. Procedure and meetings of Board.
10. Power to appoint committees.
11. Duties and functions of Board.
12. General powers of Board to transact business.
13. Power to delegate.
14. Appointment of staff.
15. Regulations.
16. Protection of Board.
17. Protection of members of Board.
18. Remuneration of members.
19. Power of Minister to give policy directives.
20. Disposal of capital assets.
21. Funds and resources of Board.
22. Borrowing powers.
23. Accounts and audit.
24. Submission of budget estimates.
25. Report to Minister.
26. Exemption from income tax and stamp duty.
27. Membership not an office of profit under the Government.
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Belize Tourism Board [CAP. 275
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CHAPTER 275
BELIZE TOURISM BOARD
[17th April, 1990]
1. This Act may be cited as the Belize Tourism Board Act.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
“Board” means the Belize Tourism Board established in accordance with this
Act;
“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board;
“Deputy Chairman” means the Deputy Chairman of the Board;
“hotel” has the meaning assigned to it by the Hotels and Tourist Accommodation
Act;
“member” includes the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Tourism.
3.-(1) There is hereby established for the purposes of this Act a body to be
called the Belize Tourism Board.
(2) The Board shall consist of no fewer than five nor more than eight members
appointed by the Minister. Of the members, one shall be the Permanent
Secretary to the Ministry for the time being responsible for Tourism, and three
shall be appointed from amongst persons who have special qualifications in,
and have had experience of, matters relating to hotel management, air travel,
17 of 1992.
Short title.
Interpretation.
CAP. 285.
Establishment
and composition
of Board.
CAP. 232A,
R.E. 1980-1990.
4 of 1990.
public relations, accountancy or banking, or who are engaged in the business
of travel agencies.
(3) The Minister may appoint some suitable person as a member of the
Board to act temporarily in the place of any member of the Board in the case
of the absence or inability to act of such member.
4.-(1) On the commencement of this Act and thereafter during the month of
January in every year, the Minister shall appoint one of the members of the
Board to be Chairman of the Board, and the members shall elect one of their
number to be Deputy Chairman of the Board.
(2) The Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Board shall hold office as
such until the appointment or election of his successor but he shall cease to be
Chairman or Deputy Chairman, as the case may be, if he ceases to be a
member of the Board.
(3) A retiring Chairman or Deputy Chairman shall be eligible for reap-
pointment or re-election, as the case may be.
5.-(1) A member of the Board other than an ex officio member shall, sub-
ject to subsections (2) and (3), hold office for such period, not exceeding
three years, as the Minister may direct in the instrument appointing such mem-
ber, but such member shall be eligible for reappointment.
(2) Any member of the Board other than an ex officio member may at
any time resign his office by instrument in writing addressed to the Chairman,
who shall forthwith cause it to be forwarded to the Minister, and upon the date
of the receipt by the Chairman of such instrument such member shall cease to
be a member of the Board.
(3) The Minister may at any time for good and sufficient cause revoke the
appointment of a member of the Board other than an ex officio member if he
thinks it expedient so to do.
Chairman and
Deputy Chairman.
Tenure of office of
members.
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6. The appointment, removal, death or resignation of any member of the
Board, other than an ex officio member, shall be published in the Gazette.
7.-(1) The Board shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and
a common seal, with power to purchase, lease or otherwise acquire, hold and
dispose of land and other property of whatever kind and may sue and be sued
in its corporate name and may for all purposes be described by such name.
(2) Service upon the Board of any notice, order or other document shall
be executed by delivering the same or by sending it by registered post addressed
to the secretary of the Board at the office of the Board.
8.-(1) The seat of the Board shall be kept in the custody of the Chairman or
the Deputy Chairman or of such officer of the Board as the Board may ap-
prove and may be affixed to instruments pursuant to a resolution of the Board
and in the presence of the Chairman or Deputy Chairman and of one other
member.
(2) The seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the signature of the
Chairman or Deputy Chairman and one other member and such seal shall be
officially and judicially noticed.
(3) All documents, other than those required by law to be under seal, made
by, and all decisions of, the Board, may be signified under the hand of the
Chairman or Deputy Chairman.
9.-(1) The Board shall meet at such times as may be necessary or expedient
for the transaction of business, and such meetings shall be held at such places
and times and on such days as the Board may determine.
(2) The Chairman, or in the event of his being absent abroad or unable to
act, the Deputy Chairman, may at any time call a special meeting of the Board
and shall call a special meeting within seven days of a written requisition for that
purpose addressed to him by any three members of the Board.
Publication of
appointments,
removals, etc.
Incorporation.
Affixing seal and
authentication
of documents.
Procedure and
meetings of
Board.
(3) The Chairman, or in his absence the Deputy Chairman, shall preside
at all meetings of the Board.
(4) Not less than half of the members of the Board shall constitute a
quorum.
(5) Subject to this Act, the decisions of the Board shall be by a majority
of votes and, in addition to an original vote, in any case in which the voting is
equal, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman presiding at the meeting shall have a
casting vote.
(6) Minutes in proper form of each meeting shall be kept by such officer
as the Board may appoint and shall be confirmed by the Board at the next
meeting and signed by the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, as the case may
be.
(7) The Board may co-opt any one or more persons to attend any particular
meeting of the Board for the purpose of assisting or advising the Board, but no
such co-opted persons shall have any right to vote.
(8) Subject to this Act, the Board shall have power to regulate its own
proceedings.
10.-(1) The Board may appoint a committee of the Board to examine and
report on any matter whatsoever arising out of or connected with any of its
powers and duties under this Act.
(2) Any such committee shall consist of at least two members of the Board
together with such other persons whether members of the Board or not, whose
assistance or advice the Board may desire.
(3) Where persons, not being members of the Board, are members of a
committee appointed under this section, or where any person is co-opted
under subsection (7) of section 9, the Board may by resolution declare the
Power to appoint
committees.
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Belize Tourism Board [CAP. 275
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remuneration and allowances of such persons, and such sums shall properly be
payable out of the funds and resources of the Board.
(4) The Board may by resolution reject the report of any such committee
or adopt it either wholly or with such modifications, additions or adaptations as
the Board may think fit.
11. It shall be the duty of the Board, within the limits of its resources-
(a) to develop all aspects of the tourist industry of Belize and to
promote the efficiency of the industry;
(b) to adopt all such measures, as it may deem fit, to advertise and
publicize Belize as a tourist resort throughout the year;
(c) to promote and secure such increased airline and shipping
facilities as will tend to increase tourist traffic to Belize;
(d) to secure the most favourable arrangements for the entry of
tourists into Belize;
(e) to encourage, by such measures as it may deem fit, the
development of such amenities in Belize as may be calculated
to enhance the attractiveness of Belize to tourists with special
reference to entertainment, local culture, conservation of
local flora and fauna, deep sea fishing, scuba diving and handi-
crafts;
(f) to undertake such research, experiments and operations as may
appear to it to be necessary to improve the basis of the tourist
industry and to control and eliminate any undesirable factors
that may affect the industry;
Duties and
functions of
Board.
(g) to foster an understanding within Belize of the importance and
economic benefit of the tourist industry;
(h) to encourage and promote training facilities for hotel staff;
(i) to classify hotels according to the standard of amenities
provided;
(j) to make all such enquiries and to collect all such information
as it may think necessary for the purpose of carrying out its
duty under this section;
(k) to foster understanding within Belize of the importance of
environmental protection and pollution control and the
conservation of natural resources;
(l) generally to take all such other lawful measures as it may
consider likely to assist it in carrying out most effectively the
purposes of this Act.
12. Subject to this Act, the Board shall have power, for the purpose of the
execution of its duty and the discharge of its functions under section 11-
(a) to carry on all activities the carrying on of which appears to it
to be requisite, advantageous or convenient for or in connection
with the discharge of its said duty;
(b) to do anything and to enter into any transaction (whether or
not involving expenditure, borrowing, the acquisition of any
property or rights) which in its opinion is calculated to facilitate
the proper discharge of its functions or is incidental or con-
ducive thereto.
General powers of
Board to transact
business.
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13. Subject to this Act, the Board may, by a two-thirds majority vote of the
members thereof, delegate to any member or committee of the Board the power
and authority to carry out on its behalf such duties as the Board may determine.
14.-(1) The Board shall, with the approval of the Minister, appoint a chief
executive officer to be called the “Director of Tourism”, and a secretary to the
Board, at such remuneration and on such terms and conditions as the Minister
may approve.
(2) Subject to subsection (1), the Board may appoint and employ, at such
remuneration and on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit, such other officers,
agents and servants as it deems necessary for the proper carrying into effect of
this Act:
Provided that-
(a) no salary in excess of the rate of eight thousand dollars per
annum shall be assigned to any post without the prior approval
of the Minister;
(b) no appointment shall be made to any post to which a salary in
excess of the rate of eight thousand dollars per annum is
assigned without the prior approval of the Minister; and
(c) no provision shall be made for the payment of any pensions,
gratuities or other like benefits to any officers, agents or servants,
or to others by reference to their service, without the prior
approval of the Minister.
(3) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, formulate schemes
for the grant of pensions, gratuities or other like benefits to its officers, agents or
servants.
Power to
delegate.
Appointment of
staff.
(4) Except in cases in which the Minister otherwise directs, the persons
who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, held offices estab-
lished for the purposes of the body known as the “Bureau of Tourism” shall
be deemed, on the commencement of this Act, to be transferred to the service
of the Board and to hold offices under the Board, on the like terms and con-
ditions of employment, as if they had been originally appointed to the service
of the Board.
15.-(1) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations
generally for the better carrying out of the purposes of this Act, and in particular
providing for-
(a) the measures and methods to be adopted in improving the
basis of the tourist industry in Belize and in controlling and
eliminating undesirable factors that may affect it;
(b) the registration of hotels catering for tourists and the
classification of such hotels according to the standard of
amenities provided;
(c) the keeping of records of the number of tourists in Belize
during any period and of the countries to which they belong;
(d) the training, certification, registration, supervision and
establishment of standards for all sectors of the tourism in-
dustry and all related industries, services and enterprises, in-
cluding but not limited to tour guides, dive guides, tour op-
erators, travel agents, tourism transportation and transport
operations, restaurants, nightclubs and other places of enter-
tainment and hospitality for tourists; and
(e) the levying of tariffs, rates, fees and charges for any of the
above purposes and the imposition of penalties for the breach
of any of the regulations.
Regulations.
17 of 1992.
17 of 1992.
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(2) All regulations made under this section shall be subject to negative reso-
lution.
16. No act done or proceeding taken under this Act shall be questioned
on the ground-
(a) of the existence of any vacancy in the membership, or any
defect in the constitution, of the Board; or
(b) of any omission, defect or irregularity not affecting the merits
of the cause.
17. No action, suit, prosecution or other proceedings shall be brought or
instituted personally against any member of the Board in respect of any act
done bona fide in pursuance or execution or intended execution of this Act.
18. The Board shall pay to each non-official member of the Board, in
respect of his office, such, if any, remuneration and allowances as the Minister
may determine and to the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman in respect of his
office, such, if any, remuneration and allowances in addition to any remunera-
tion and allowances to which he may be entitled in respect of his office as a
member as may be so determined.
19. The Minister may, after consultation with the Chairman, or in the event
of the Chairman being absent, the Deputy Chairman, give to the Board direc-
tions of a general character as to the policy to be followed in the exercise and
performance of its functions in relation to matters appearing to him to concern
the public interest, and the Board shall give effect to any such directions.
20. The power of the Minister to give directions to the Board shall extend
to the giving to it of directions-
(a) as to the disposal of capital assets; or
Protection of
Board.
Protection of
members of
Board.
Remuneration of
members.
Power of
Minister to give
policy
directives.
Disposal of
capital assets.
(b) as to the application of proceeds of such disposals,
notwithstanding that the directions may be of a specific
character.
21. The funds and resources of the Board shall consist of-
(a) such sums as may be provided for the purpose from time to
time by the National Assembly;
(b) all sums received by the Board as payment for advertisements;
(c) all sums collected under the authority of regulations made under
this Act or under any other law;
(d) all other sums or property which may in any manner become
payable to or vested in the Board in respect of any matter
incidental to its powers and duties.
22.-(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the Board may borrow
sums required by it for meeting any of its obligations or discharging any of its
functions.
(2) The power of the Board to borrow shall be exercisable only with the
approval of the Minister as to the amount, as to the sources of the borrowing,
and as to the terms on which the borrowing may be effected.
(3) An approval given in any respect for the purposes of subsection (2),
may be either general or limited to a particular borrowing or otherwise and
may be either unconditional or subject to conditions.
23.-(1) The Board shall keep accounts of its transactions to the satisfaction of
the Minister and such accounts shall be audited by the Auditor-General or by
an auditor appointed by the Minister.
Funds and
resources of the
Board.
Borrowing powers.
Accounts and
audit.
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(2) The members, officers, agents and servants of the Board shall grant to
the Auditor-General or the auditor appointed to audit the accounts of the Board
under subsection (1), access to all books, documents, cash and securities of
the Board and shall give to him on request all such information as may be within
their knowledge in relation to the operation of the Board.
(3) The Board may with the approval of the Minister write off bad debts.
24. The Board shall, in such form and by such dates as may be prescribed
by the Financial Secretary, prepare and submit to the Minister responsible for
finance, through the Minister responsible for tourism, estimates of income
receivable and the expenditure to be incurred during each financial year (including
any supplementary estimates), and the Minister responsible for finance shall
present the said estimates to the National Assembly with such amendments and
modifications, if any, as he may consider necessary.
25.-(1) The Board shall, not later than six months from the end of each year,
submit to the Minister a report containing-
(a) an account of its transactions throughout the preceding year
in such detail as the Minister may direct; and
(b) a statement of the accounts of the Board audited in accordance
with section 23.
(2) A copy of the auditor’s report shall be printed and laid on the table of
both Houses and published in the Gazette.
26.-(1) The income, revenue or other receipts of the Board shall be exempt
from income tax.
(2) All instruments executed by or on behalf of the Board shall be exempt
from stamp duty.
Submission of
budget
estimates.
Report to
Minister.
Exemption from
income and
stamp duty.
27. Membership of the Board shall not of itself be deemed to be an office
of profit or emolument under the Government for the purposes of the Repre-
sentation of the People Act.
Membership not
an office of profit
under the Govern-
ment.
CAP. 9.
