SHOW REPORT CENTRAL AMERICA TRAVEL MARKET
Guatemala sees UK surge Talking Tourism NICARAGUA
The eighth Central America Travel Market (October 19-21) welcomed 206 exhibitors and 124 buyers from 24 different countries to Panama City. Adam Coulter rounds up the top stories
MARIA ESTHER SELVA, commercial relations for Europe, marketing and promotion
department, Nicaragua Tourism UK visitor figures to Guatemala were
up by 11.8 per cecnt in the first half of this year, reaching 10,617 compared to 9,493 over the same period in 2010. Although the UK makes up a small
percentage of overall tourist numbers to Guatemala, they are valued as they spend more time and money than other tourists, said Juan Fernando Chang, head of marketing at the Institute of Guatemalan Tourism. The increase in UK tourists has been
driven by increased airlift and the Mundo Maya (Mayan World) advertising campaign on London taxis, said Chang. Interest in Mundo Maya – the year in
which the old Mayan calendar ends and the new one begins – has been driving visitor numbers.
Central America in fashion
“We planned a pre-launch of the Mundo Maya in November in a major Mayan site, probably Tikal,” said Chang. “This will be followed by a ceremony on December 21 this year to start the one- year countdown to the new Mayan year.” The launch will mark the start of a
series of cultural, mystical and heritage- related activities in Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras and some states in southern Mexico throughout 2012. Guatemala saw a 10 per cent fall in
the number of people visiting the country via cruise ships in the first half of 2011 but this will likely change in 2013 when Royal Caribbean adds a Central America cruise which wil include stops in Guatemala.
www.visitguatemala.com
Panama seeks cruise passenger rise
Panama plans to build a new cruise terminal on the Pacific side to cater for larger cruise ships – and attract more visitors to the country. Work on the new terminal will start
in 2012 and should be completed in time for the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal in 2014. The works are part of overall
The number of foreign visitors to Central America increased by 4.7 per cent during the first six months of this year, compared to last year. European visitors were up by 8.9
per cent with a total of 413,664 tourists compared to 379,838 in the same period in 2010. UK visitor figures to Central
America helped fuel this increase, rising by around seven per cent in 2010, to more than 98,000. Costa Rica saw the biggest increase,
with a 20 per cent increase in British tourists compared to 2009 to 35,000.
16 December 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
improvements to the canal which will also include a new visitor centre on the Caribbean side, Colon 2000. The deputy minister for tourism Ernesto Orillac said: “We are trying to attract more cruise passengers to visit the country, rather than just see them transit through. And we would like
IN BRIEF
Iberia adds flights to Panama Iberia will add a fifth weekly flight
between Madrid and Panama, in January 2012. Since it started non-stop flights between Madrid and Panama in October 2010, the airline has carried 90,000 passengers on the route.
www.iberia.com
Avianca-Taca increases numbers
Avianca-Taca carried 13.51 million passengers between January and August 2011 – an 18.8 per cent increase on 2010. The airline has increased the number of flights it operates by 26.8 per cent in the past year.
www.aviancataca.com
more people to visit the Caribbean side of the country; at present most people just visit the Pacific side.” Orillac said he will aim for a modest 30-50,000 extra cruise passenger visits in the first year of the opening. Orillac said he had recently met with
the heads of the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association to discuss details of the new terminal.
www.visitpanama.com
Visitor figures to Nicaragua reached 554,000 to the end of June this year, an increase of 3.6 per cent on the same period last year. The biggest increase was in the number of European visitors which rose by 5.7 per cent in the first six months of this year compared with last year to 37,661.
How important is the UK market to Nicaragua? The UK market is very important. Europe overall is the third most important tourism market after Central America and North America, and the UK comes third after Spain and Germany. How has the world economy affected visitor numbers? We know the financial crisis has affected some source markets, but that hasn’t been the case with the UK and Germany. 2009 was the high point for visitor numbers; last year saw a fall, but 2011 is going well. How important is the UK trade to Nicaragua tourism? This year we have tried to market ourselves in the UK more than any other European market, by working with travel agents and tour operators, for example with Carvelli Tours and Journey Latin America. Also, for the first time at World Travel Market we had a 90m sq – our largest yet at the show. This was a big investment and commitment by us. We were anticipating between eight and 15 private sector companies at WTM. What can we expect to see in 2012 in Nicaragua? We will be concentrating on hotel product and trying to get the message across that the country has good hotels in the boutique and luxury sector at good prices. We are developing four airports and hope to launch a local airline. We would also like to get a direct flight from Europe. We also plan to hire a PR to help us with promotion and liaising with tour operators.
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