#Belize is not just for backpackers any more

Tobacco Caye aerial in Belize barrier reef with a boat.

 For all of Belize’s cultural diversity—the country’s melting pot heritage is equal parts Mayan, Creole, Mestizo, Spanish, Lebanese, Chinese, British, Indian, and Mennonite—its tourism scene is surprisingly one-note.

Nearly three-quarters of its 1.4 million annual visitors arrive by cruise ship, docking for just enough time to see the Altun Ha Mayan ruins, ride some zip lines, or go tubing through its famed Crystal Cave. And while a small clutch of luxury hotels exists—led by the pioneering, culinary-focused Copal Tree Lodge and the Coppola family’s private island retreat, Turtle Inn—Belize has suffered from a backpacker reputation that undermines its true Caribbean charms.

That’s changing. “When I started coming here 15 years ago, it was Birkenstocks and REI bags on the TropicAir flights,” says Beth Clifford, founder of the three-month-old Mahogany Bay Resort & Beach Club, referring to the 14-seat Cessna flights that are ubiquitous in Belize. “I just got off a TropicAir plane today and counted no fewer than three Louis Vuitton bags,” she adds. “The profile has changed entirely.”

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Mahogany Bay is the first in a long string of luxury openings coming to Belize. It opened in December on the southeastern tip of Ambergris Caye, with a 70-acre beach club and exploration center for fly-fishing, spelunking, and scuba diving. Joining it soon are a farm-to-table project with solar-powered beachfront cottages, a Dream Hotels Group property adjacent to a jaguar preserve, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s wellness-focused eco-resort, Blackadore Caye.

All that growth shows no signs of stopping. By the time Four Seasons Caye Chapel opens in 2021 with 30 to 40 overwater bungalows on a private island, the country will be competing with the world’s hottest honeymoon destinations.

Four Seasons is leveraging an unheralded aspect of Belize’s topography: Off the country’s coast are 450 atolls that form a low-lying archipelago, similar to the Maldives or the South Pacific. 

This archipelago, however, is a five-hour flight from New York, a six-hour flight from Los Angeles, and an hour and a half from Miami. For Americans and South Americans, it’s a new destination next door. 

“It really does remind me of the Maldives,” says Michael Crawford, Four Seasons’ president of portfolio management and owner relations. “It’s pretty rare to find places like this, where you can create an entire destination unto itself on a private island, much less one that’s proximate to the U.S.—and with good infrastructure,” he tells Bloomberg.

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#Italy - #Venice bans opening of new fast food outlets

Venetian authorities no longer want to see tourists strolling into Saint Mark’s Square or around its legendary canals with a sandwich or a snack in hand.

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Authorities in Venice have passed a law preventing the opening of new fast food outlets in a bid to preserve the identity of the Floating City.

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Venetian authorities no longer want to see tourists strolling into Saint Mark’s Square or around its legendary canals with a sandwich or a snack in hand. The city’s authorities want to put a brake on the expansion of outlets selling burgers, kebabs and other fast-food items intended for eating on the hoof.

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Paola Mar, the city’s tourism chief, considers that such establishments “are not compatible with the preservation and development of Venice’s cultural heritage.” The law also seeks to limit the growth of outlets selling take-out pizza by the slice.

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Venice is used to seeing students gather in the Campo Santa Margherita square to devour their slice of pizza. Other successful street food outlets have also modernized the Venice food scene, like in the San Polo district, where Acqua E Mais serves the famous Italian polenta topped with local fritto misto (mixed fried seafood) in a cone to go.

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It is currently prohibited to eat take-out food in Saint Mark’s Square, nor is it not possible to sit on the steps of the square’s basilica. Tourists wanting a bite to eat must instead ask for a table in one of the historic cafés in the emblematic Venetian location.

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This isn’t the first time that Italy has gone to war with fast food. Verona, an hour’s train ride from Venice, prohibited the opening of new kebab shops in 2016. McDonald’s also caused anger in Rome when it opened a restaurant a stone’s throw away from the Vatican early that same year.

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A cardinal even wrote to Pope Francis asking him to intervene. At the end of 2016, the Mayor of Florence refused the opening of an American fast food joint on the Piazza Del Duomo, one of the Tuscan capital’s main squares.

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