There is a large sign that stands by the side of the road at a busy intersection in downtown Belize City, the main coastal city of the Central American/Caribbean country of Belize. The sign reads ‘Discourtesy is the Beginning of Violence’: it is a ‘reminder’ sponsored, we are told, by a local law firm and the Belize City Council (see Figure 8.1). This sign is located on a major thoroughfare, used by many tourists as they make their way from the airport, the bus station or the water-taxi docks to the Fort George area of town, where the more expensive hotels are located. As a tourist, you see this sign and recognise that it is not directed at you. But you do understand, intuitively, that it has been erected because of your presence and because of the presence of the many other tourists who have been drawn to this small country by the government's active promotion of Belize as a tourist destination. Taken at face value, this sign obviously stands as a reminder to locals of the importance of courtesy in their daily behaviour. It also can be read as an indication of the significance placed on tourism and the tourism product by local government authorities. In fact, the sign and its message suggest that the expectations of proper public conduct and civic responsibility that are placed on Belizeans as citizens can be linked to the demands of tourism.

As you spend time in Belize, you encounter other indications of the importance of tourism in people's everyday lives. There are frequent announcements by the Belize Tourism Board on the local radio that remind Belizeans that ‘tourism is for all of us’. Some of these radio spots echo the sentiments of the sign in downtown Belize City and remind Belizeans to ‘be kind to tourists’.