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Tonight, she tells us that there was a clear move to politicize the affairs the BTB - which stripped away the enabling environment for positive growth:

Jules Vasquez
"If things are moving towards a more political orientation, and away from a direct result-oriented orientation, does that bode ill, as you see it, for the industry in the short to medium term?"

Seleni Matus - Former Director of Tourism
"Tourism really is business. Business really cannot work with politics; we know this, and so clearly, you can ask any hotelier, any tour operator. Their focus is maximizing returns. It is in ensuring that they are moving at the pace needed to deliver those results to meet the expectations of the tourists come in, and ensuring that they are growing as a business. In that type of environment, you do have distractions, but those distractions cannot overwhelm the core focus of the mission, which is to create more wealth. And so, in this scenario, I believe that it will be especially difficult to continue to work at the pace needed, and deliver results at the sort of higher standards that, it's not us requiring, but the world is requiring - that the tourists are requiring, that the markets are requiring. And so, in that type of real scenario I would say that we are definitely in a critical juncture, and it really depends on how the Board of Directors and the Ministry of Tourism - it really depends on who they choose to step into these positions, because it really, at the end of the day, is about good leadership, and focus on working for the people. It's about about good governance."

Jules Vasquez
"Well, in any relationship - any arrangement - there comes disputes. Sometimes, people can't get along, but it seems like you are throwing in towel, because at the end of the day, you're a Belizean American, and you can return to live in the United States, and say, 'Well, it was another failed experiment. The Government of Belize isn't serious.' Are you giving up too easily?"

Seleni Matus
"Very good question actually, and I know that it's one that probably is discussed widely because of this sort of ongoing debate on Belizeans fully vested versus Belizeans that have the option to live abroad. And I think this is more about really taking a critical look at what it is that can be attained. I am sure we can say, 'You can stay, and lodge a fight.' But a fight to what end? A fight for whom? In this case, really, if the Belize Tourism Board is not able to deliver the programs that it has set out to do, and to get those dollars to work for the people - and I think the past 17 months or so; I'd say even a little bit more - there has been a very diligent attempt to ensure that the tax dollars coming in are fully dedicated to working for the industry. Last year, we closed with a surplus of $2 million. This year, to date, we have met our revenue targets consistently, and have been spending within budget. So we at the board have definitely plowed back all the savings - or the surplus - that came in from last year. And we're holding ground this year, which means that there is a very deliberate focus to plow back dollars for programs that are working for people within the industry. I believe that to a large extent, the decision of leaving based on a very deep assessment of how much we would be able to sustain results. And again, I go back to that simple phrase that I used earlier, which is, in this case, there would be much more - I'd say - energies wasted on trying to manage an untenable environment, than actually working - work focused on implementing our programs. And so, while I think there is this romantic idea that, 'Gosh, we all must put on a fight.' At the end of day, any rational professional will take critical look and say, 'Alright, what's happening here? Am I working for results, or am I working to perpetuate the politics that have held us back all these years within the industry?'"

Jules Vasquez
"We all know that no leader is indispensible, but the current team at BTB was sort of molded in your image. I think since you came on, there have been, I'm told, at least a dozen people who've left, or who've been made to leave. And new people have been hired to achieve what is deemed to be greater efficiencies. But it was created according to your specifications, for the plan you wanted to implement. Will the BTB now have to go through another transformation of its personnel atleast, in order to fit in the mold of a new director?"

Seleni Matus
"Well, I think that largely depends on the person coming in to fill that seat, but I think that the uncertainty that lies ahead is understanding if it's really results or politics that we are pursuing. And so, I think that is critical in establishing as well, moving forward. So it could be, maybe, a more balanced approach - I'm not sure. We're coming into election year, so we have to be real about what the next 12 to 15 months will present. So it's not an easy time for any new person to step in because there are additional pressures that will be presented. But establishing, for the team whether we are pursuing results or politics, is something that I think is critical for the the new person to do quickly."

As to her track record, Matus points to the most recent figures form the second quarter of this year, when overnight arrivals shot up by 6.7% with arrivals at the PGIA up 5.8% for the first half of the year.