San Ignacio Resort Hotel: Belize’s Best MICE HOTEL

It would be hard to argue against the importance of the hospitality industry to Belize’s economy. The tourism sector has constituted nearly half of the country’s GDP and has continued to slowly but steadily grow for years. But while there’s no lack of Americans looking to Belize for a summer of fun or a new tropical home, but some are recognizing the potential that Belize has for business travelers. San Ignacio Resort Hotel is a local Belize institution that’s helping change the paradigm of the Belize travel industry. Here’s everything you need to know about the hotel’s MICE award and what it means for the bigger picture. What is MICE? While it might sound like an acronym for some advanced pest control organization, MICE actually stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions. It’s a template for hospitality that manages to embody most forms of business travel, and they can range in scale from individual employees using incentives to vacation in a tropical destination to wooing potential clients with a major exhibition or helping develop ideas and build cohesion with the company team members. In other words, being successful as a MICE hospitality business means being adaptable, scalable, and willing to invest in building out your qualifications both in terms of financial and training expenses. Why This Win Matters The San Ignacio Resort Hotel is one of those businesses willing to put in the investment. We drew together local businesses from throughout the region in 2015 for our first meeting on how to better draw MICE business into Belize and specifically the beautiful Cayo District along the country’s western regions. And now that the San Ignacio Resort Hotel has won the Best MICE Hotel Award for Belize in 2021, it’s a decision that’s clearly beginning to pay out generous returns. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon. The strong value of the U.S. dollar in Belize, the fact that the national language is English, and the abundance of direct flights from the United States to and from Belize are all proof that this idyllic Caribbean destination can be perfect for business travelers as well. And thanks to Belize’s sensible policies of reopening its tourism industry in the wake of COVID-19, the country is poised for a more serious assessment by businesses looking to host events. What’s Special About San Ignacio Resort Hotel The San Ignacio Resort Hotel has been around since 1976, and it has grown from a few nondescript rooms facing the road to an expansive boutique hotel with 27 unique and spacious elegant rooms and a wealth of modern amenities and services. From the expansive Bedran Hall to the cozier space but equally as the stunning view of the Caracol Room, there’s space for practically any type of business event you could hope to have. San Ignacio is a special town in its own right thanks to its reputation as the gateway to the Cayo District. This makes it a launching point for high-octane outdoor adventures, cultural immersion in the extant Maya sites, or observation of the rich variety of local wildlife. No matter what the purpose of your business event is, you can count on the San Ignacio Resort Hotel’s staff to pull out every stop. And you can count on the town of San Ignacio itself to offer compelling reasons why you should make it the site of your next business meeting, incentives program, conference, or exhibition.