The proposed community tourism project stems from the GEF/Small Grants Programme initiative to stimulate community tourism through provision of financial resources, technical support and networking to promote the tourism products and services offered by the communities. It fulfils Operational Programme 3, item 3 of the GEF/SGP country programme strategy by promoting community-based initiatives to increase the participation of local people in the management of natural resources. The project will focus on marketing the products and services offered by the five target community groups, specifically from Bermudian Landing, St. Paul?s Bank, Rancho Dolores in the Belize River Valley, Silk Grass in the Stann Creek District and Monkey River Village in the Toledo District.

The community participants will be accompanied by a Programme for Belize representative, and three GEF/SGP representatives. The Belizean delegation will be exposed to the demands by regional and international markets at the community tourism fair to be held in Costa Rica from December 1 ? 5, 2004. The fair will be attended by community groups throughout Central America that manage tourism initiatives. The objective is to have the target communities gain valuable firsthand experience in the promotion, marketing and sale of their product, network with community groups in Central America with similar experiences and build capacity through an applied and hands-on approach.