I recently traveled to Belize and had an interesting encounter with communications. There were signs in the airport indicating that everyone leaving the country must pay a departure fee. There were two rates: one for citizens and one for foreigners and it was to be paid in cash only. I got out of the line and asked an airport employee about the policy and he reinforced it and directed me to a bank branch in the airport. I first had to go to an ATM, withdraw Belize currency and then go to the bank to buy American currency to pay the departure fee. Back in line and having lost my place, another traveler inquired about the policy and I shared my experience of a few minutes earlier. After checking in and inquiring as to when the departure fee was due, the airline employee advised me that it was included in the price of the ticket. Removing the signs could not be that difficult and would certainly have avoided the unnecessary trouble of scrambling around for exact change in U.S. currency. It is unlikely that I am the first traveler that this has happened to. It is important to send a consistent message as there can be many opportunities for confusion and misunderstandings.
Ilan Smith
Visit our web site at: www.oakleyassociates.com
Comments