San Pedro's high season is about to start, and the people who live north of town are worried the island won't make the right first impression. The Ambergris North Alliance (ANA), a residents' group, has gone public with a blunt question: with tourism slipping and a major new flight route on the horizon, why is trash still piling up along the roads visitors actually use?
The timing isn't arbitrary. Belize Tourism Board figures show overnight arrivals fell 8.4% between June and September 2026 versus the same stretch in 2025, with August alone down nearly 13%. Hotels, guides, restaurants and real estate agents on the island all describe business as slow — the slowest since the pandemic, by their account. Against that backdrop, ANA argues Belize can't afford to let roadside dumping, filled-in lagoons and bulldozed mangroves chip away at the reef-and-nature image the country sells.
The stakes get higher in December 2027, when Discover Airlines launches Belize's first direct flight from Europe, connecting Frankfurt with the country. ANA's point is simple: travellers booking a long-haul trip for unspoiled cayes and clear water will notice rubbish on the drive north to Secret Beach, and the government celebrating the new route should be just as invested in what those visitors see on the ground.
The group isn't new to this. For two-plus years it has run monthly Saturday clean-ups along the north corridor with help from neighbours, police, coast guard and school kids, plus funded roadside crews and a summer camp for local children. But volunteers say they've hit their limit.
In late September, ANA wrote to eight officials — among them the Mayor, the Area Representative, the Tourism and Sustainable Development ministers, and the Department of the Environment's Chief Environmental Officer — asking for a joint meeting and a response by October 12. No one replied. On October 23 the group hand-delivered another copy to the Mayor's office and reached out to the new Minister of Public Utilities, Logistics and Solid Waste Management, Ramon Cervantes.
What ANA wants is concrete: clearing known dump sites in view of the Secret Beach road, regular household waste collection for North Ambergris (or an interim plan with more public bins), and updated by-laws covering construction sites and business waste. Belize, they note, already has solid environmental laws — the gap is enforcement.
For travellers, this is worth knowing rather than judging. The island's charm depends heavily on community effort, and visitor spending is what keeps it viable. If you're heading to Ambergris, packing out your own rubbish, choosing operators who respect the mangroves and supporting local clean-up initiatives genuinely matters here. Source: Ambergris Today.
