How's the economy in Placencia, Belize?
Frik De Meyere
There’s a brand new international airport with a 9,200 foot runway being built here in Placencia that’s about 2/3 completed. They’ve got $20 million into the project. It’s currently stalled, but I believe it will be finished soon, probably in 2017 or before for private jets and charter flights. After its completed, it will be possible then for someone to wake up, for example, in Aspen, decide to go to the beach, and be here in about 3 ½ to...There’s a brand new international airport with a 9,200 foot runway being built here in Placencia that’s about 2/3 completed. They’ve got $20 million into the project. It’s currently stalled, but I believe it will be finished soon, probably in 2017 or before for private jets and charter flights. After its completed, it will be possible then for someone to wake up, for example, in Aspen, decide to go to the beach, and be here in about 3 ½ to 4 hours. That will have a massively positive impact on the real estate values in the area. There’s also a family golf course coming in at the top of the peninsula called the Panther Golf Club that has an 18-hole PGA course that will be open to the public. This will be the only PGA quality 18-hole golf course in the entire nation of Belize open to the pubic.
Norwegian Cruise Lines just purchased an island called Harvest Caye about 2 – 3 miles off the coast of Placencia. They’re already purchasing tours for the dock in what I believe is 2015.
The roads have just been upgraded, as well as $12.5 million worth of sewer lines coming down through the entire peninsula.
There isn’t, however, a large industrial base in Belize in general and Placencia in specific. The economy is more based on agriculture, tourism, and financial services. However, if you put all of these positive things together with Placencia having a stable power source (see my answer under “Is the electricity reliable in Placencia?”), Belize being an English speaking country with British common law, Belize looks very attractive.
Posted December 1, 2014
Larry France - Chabil Mar
My perspective on the economy of Placencia is that it is quite healthy in terms of being a safe economy. Granted the cost of living in Placencia is pretty high considering the income of the local Belize residents, but at the same time it is an economy that seems to be very stable at this stage. I certainly have had that experience while working with the banks here. The economy in Placencia seems very good and very healthy. The tourism industry in Placencia is very healthy and driving the...My perspective on the economy of Placencia is that it is quite healthy in terms of being a safe economy. Granted the cost of living in Placencia is pretty high considering the income of the local Belize residents, but at the same time it is an economy that seems to be very stable at this stage. I certainly have had that experience while working with the banks here. The economy in Placencia seems very good and very healthy. The tourism industry in Placencia is very healthy and driving the economy in a very positive way.I would definitely say that tourism is the number one industry in Placencia. Second would probably be construction. There is a fair amount of construction going on in the country that has increased a lot since I became familiar with Placencia nine years ago. The reason is that Placencia is becoming more and more known as a great destination in Belize.
Placencia is not a very large tourism destination as far as Belize goes. Placencia is a village of approximately 1,500 people and there's only a certain amount of tourism that can be sustained in a village that small. The Placencia Village itself is the big population center along a peninsula by the same name, Placencia, which is about 18 miles long.
Compared to Placencia, Ambergris Caye is much more tourism-oriented. I have been to Ambergris Caye on half dozen occasions, and based on that experience, I believe that there are probably more tourists there than there are locals because of the number of beds they have available for tourists. In Placencia, what you get is a very realistic feel for what the Belizean culture is like and what it is like to live in Belize because there is only one street on account of Placencia being a peninsula. So along the street, there is a schoolhouse, the fishermen, and the people going about their day-to-day lives are right there in front of you. There are children playing in the streets, on bicycles, and out on the beach during the day. You really do feel that you are getting a Belizean cultural experience. Anybody going to the restaurants or to maybe a beach bar would have locals sitting right down next to you. They're very friendly and love to talk to tourists. I do things like play horseshoe on Saturdays when I'm down there. They just have an open horseshoe tournament for whoever who wants to sign up, which is just day-to -day life there.
(At the turn of the century, Mayan fisherwomen, when Belize was called British Honduras, pictured.)
Posted August 6, 2015
Wayne Robbins - The Placencia
The economy in Placencia is always improving. The two largest sectors of the economy are tourism and real estate. People come to Placencia because they want to be in that kind of strong lifestyle.From an investment perspective, since most of our owners are part timers until they retire, a lot of them will just buy a condo or a home, visit for two weeks to two months, then put their unit, home or condo in the property management rental pool and they do fairly well financially.
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The economy in Placencia is always improving. The two largest sectors of the economy are tourism and real estate. People come to Placencia because they want to be in that kind of strong lifestyle.From an investment perspective, since most of our owners are part timers until they retire, a lot of them will just buy a condo or a home, visit for two weeks to two months, then put their unit, home or condo in the property management rental pool and they do fairly well financially.
We’re trying to help out the economy by building hospitals. We also pay our people more than most developers do with their projects. Belize is a Third World country and labor is very reasonable, but fishing and agriculture, as well as the fish and shrimp market, are what makes Placencia special. Once the airport opens up, we will have more entrepreneurs starting businesses in Placencia. Placencia needs a lot of things. Any business can do well, for example, car repair, Internet cafés, even additional restaurants, bars and clubs. It’s enticing not only to the people who want to retire but also to the entrepreneur who wants to start a business here.
(Fishing tournament, Placencia, Belize, pictured.)
Posted October 23, 2015