This was a big day for the tourism team and is when we presented our needs assessment to the community at our business forum.
Author: Tristan Eddy | Major: Finance | Semester: Summer 2024
My name is Tristan Eddy and I am a junior in the Walton Honors College of Business majoring in finance with a minor in economics. I spent my summer in Dangriga, which is a small town on the east coast of Belize. Dangriga is known as the Culture Capital of Belize offering an authentic place to see the Garifuna culture and Punta music.
My international internship was through Peacework, which is a global nonprofit organization. However, during my 10-week internship in the country, I worked with the Belize Tourism Industry Association Dangriga chapter. This association focuses on giving business owners a voice in the community and encouraging local involvement in improving the town in an attempt to draw in more tourists. The staff I was connected with was exceptional and their dedication to the community made me strive to do my best work.
The team I was on consisted of three other University of Arkansas Honors business students. Our main tasks while working at the BTIA were to meet with small/micro business owners and local artisans in the Dangriga area and conduct a needs assessment. During those first few weeks, we were given the opportunity to explore Dangriga and nearby areas that would bring in tourists. We explored what the Cultural Capital of Belize had to offer by seeing a cassava farm and factory. Meeting cultural artisans such as a drum maker, painter, and wood carver. We saw the popular resorts and hotels in Dangriga asking each of these places what areas of their town they viewed needed a change. We collected this information we gathered over the weeks and made a document fleshing out the opinions we heard and our own thoughts while spending time in the town.
To conclude this assessment, we conducted a presentation at a Business Forum. We focused on getting lots of people in the area to attend and raise awareness for the event in the town. We had lots of stakeholders in the community attend and we were happy with the turnout. In addition to this, we also presented our findings to the Area Representative and Mayor. The business forum and talk with these two important figures in the community is something I am proud to have been a part of. The feedback from the community was positive and truly felt like they valued our input.
Through this internship, I learned how small businesses face similar economic and growth hardships. It can be harder for business owners to understand what success can look like without seeing much of it around in a low-income area. Our internship also was during the slow season for tourism so it can be especially hard. I found myself liking their style though and how important relationships were to many people. It was a community that took care of each other and I would like to incorporate that more into my own life. These deeper connections and a sense of purpose can lead to an extra layer of fulfillment within a career.
I am extremely happy and thankful for the experiences and lessons I gained this summer in Dangriga. This internship allowed me to immerse myself in a community that truly values connection and collaboration. The knowledge I gained and the connections I made are things I will carry with me always. It was an experience that made a lasting impression on me, and it’s something I will always remember fondly.