After in 2020 most franchises operating in the country reported declines in their operations because of the pandemic, expectations for 2021 is to overcome the losses and in some cases grow.
According to the report "Prospects for 2021 and the situation of franchises in Guatemala and Central America" prepared by the Guatemalan Franchise Association (AGF), in the country in the current context four out of 10 companies have closed between 1% and 10% of their franchise units or establishments.
produce between 8 and 9 million pairs of shoes, a figure that would double that reported in 2020 and generate revenues for companies of more than $120 million.
In the first weeks of the year, shoe sales in the Nicaraguan market showed dynamism, as more than one million pairs were sold due to the start of the school year, according to executives of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Leather and Footwear (Camcunic).
During March 2021, the Panamanian Consumer Confidence Index increased 2% with respect to the level reported in January of this year, this slight increase is reported in the context of the economic reactivation process of local production.
According to the survey conducted by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP), in strategic alliance with The Marketing Group, expectations on the probability of saving money decreased 3 percentage points, presenting a result of 75 points, below the equilibrium point, for the measurement of March 2021, so it remains at levels of marked distrust.
After the political crisis the country went through in 2018 and the health crisis it faced in 2020, businessmen maintain hopes that tourism activities will recover in 2021 and in the following years return to the path of growth.
The Nicaraguan tourism sector has been rained on over the past three years. In April 2018, companies engaged in these activities began to experience a crisis, as a political and social crisis occurred in the country, which ended up affecting the productive activity.
Although in Costa Rica during December 2020 most businesses increased their sales by about 10%, the expectations of the sector's entrepreneurs for the first quarter of 2021 are still uncertain.
The year 2020 was marked by an economic crisis, which was generated by the outbreak of covid-19 at a global level. In this context, the Costa Rican commercial sector managed to oxygenate its finances with the end of the year celebrations.
Betting on sales through digital channels, offering dishes at more accessible prices and carrying out promotions are some of the strategies that some casual dining restaurants that compete in the Costa Rican market seek to apply.
The spread of covid-19 severely affected the restaurant sector, especially businesses that did not sell through digital channels or did not have options to deliver their products to their homes.
Due to Costa Rica's estimated average hotel occupancy rate of 52% by 2020, well below the 95% recorded at the end of 2019, businessmen in the sector expect that in this context of crisis there will be no peak seasons next year.
The tourism sector is one of the hardest hit by the economic crisis generated by the outbreak of covid-19, because mobility restrictions, the closure of air terminals and the fear of tourists to be infected, have influenced the drastic fall in tourism activity.
In the context of the economic crisis that Costa Rica is going through due to the pandemic, businessmen from the commercial sector reported that the "Black Friday" sales of 2020 were similar to those of 2019.
Despite the drop in commercial activity generated by the covid-19 outbreak, executives of the Chamber of Commerce reported that sales reached an acceptable level, which can be explained, in part, by the commercial strategies applied by the establishments.
Promoting a risk management culture, defining possible scenarios by turning uncertainty into a variable and preparing to safeguard the company's operational continuity are some of the most important strategies for facing the coming year.
The pandemic that generated the spread of covid-19, caused changes in all business sectors and also generated an environment of uncertainty regarding the future of the economy.
Due to the suspension of several projects and the political, economic and fiscal situation in Costa Rica, it is expected that the economic activity of the construction industry will close the year in the red and for 2021 a scenario of much uncertainty is predicted.
According to data from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), the economic activity of construction began to report negative year-on-year variations since December 2018.
Because the supply of office and commercial buildings has increased, and at the same time unemployment has also risen, in Costa Rica the directors of these properties foresee that next year the parties will have to renegotiate the contracts.
Data collected by Colliers International indicate that between June 2019 and the same month in 2020 the total inventory of commercial buildings increased by 1.5% from 1.16 million m2 to 1.18 million m2.
After the unemployment rate in the United States fell from 15% to 8% between April and August, it became evident that at the beginning of the crisis the capacity of recovery that the North American country could develop was underestimated and it is expected that this behavior could boost the economic activity in Central America.
During the first half of 2020, when the first cases of covid-19 began to be reported in the region, forecasts noted that the recovery of economic activity would be excessively slow, due to a significant drop in consumption globally.
Between February and August of this year, the proportion of consumers in Costa Rica who expressed pessimism regarding the country's economic future increased from 33% to 47%, a rise that can be explained by the crisis resulting from the outbreak of covid-19.
According to the Consumer Confidence Survey conducted during August 2020 by the School of Statistics of the University of Costa Rica, people in the country expect increases in the cost of their loans in the next 12 months.
Variations indicating a certain improvement in the world economy, the reopening of different markets and the recovery of exports are some of the factors that could influence Guatemala's economic activity to decrease less than expected in 2020.
The World Bank projects that the Central American economy will contract by 3.6% this year, due to restrictions on movement, a decline in remittances and tourism, and a drop in agricultural prices.
The sudden and widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have caused a drastic contraction in the global economy, which, according to World Bank forecasts, will shrink by 5.2% this year, the bank reported on June 8.