Authorities report that during 2018 arrived in the country 1.4 million visitors, a figure that is 28% lower than the 1.9 million recorded in 2017, a decline explained by the social and political crisis that the country is going through since April last year.
With several months in arrears, the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism published the report on the country's tourism situation, which reflects that after the sector came growing steadily, during 2018 collapsed because of the crisis.
In the 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala fell back in the ranking, while the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report prepared by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 41 out of 140 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 47, the Dominican Republic at 73, Nicaragua at 91, Honduras at 94, Guatemala at 99 and El Salvador at 108.
At the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, touristic companies in Nicaragua were reporting a good performance, but the political situation in the country has generated a crisis that is still unsolved.
In 2017, tourism generated $840 million in revenue for the Nicaraguan economy, 31% more than in 2016, growth that improved the companies' expectations at the beginning of the year, since in the first quarter of 2018 the forecasts were that by the end of this year revenues could reach $900 million.
The union has reported that five months after the outbreak of the social and political crisis in Nicaragua, the country has lost about 68,000 of the 120,000 jobs generated by the sector.
The National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) presented a report highlighting the impact of the country's social and political crisis on the tourism sector.
Between the first and second quarters of the year, the average daily per capita expenditure made by tourists who arrived in Nicaragua fell from $45.7 to $37.7.
From a report by the Central Bank of Nicaragua:
September 19, 2018.The average daily per capita expenditure made by incoming tourists was 37.7 dollars in the second quarter of the year and registered a decrease of 17.5 percent compared to the previous quarter, highlighting spending by tourists from other regions and North America, however, due to the affluence of tourists who visited the country, spending by tourists from Central America and North America has greater relevance.Year-on-year, this indicator reflected a decrease of 17.3 percent
In May, 34,400 foreign tourists arrived in the country by air, almost 40% less than in the same month last year.
The political and social crisis that the country is experiencing continues to cause havoc in the Nicaraguan economy, with tourism being one of the most affected sectors.According to statistics from the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur), in April, the month in which the crisis began, there was a year-on-year decrease of 16% in the number of visitors that entered by air, falling from 60,116 to 50,450.
During the last year it was reported that the average stay of tourists was 10.5 days, which represents an increase of 11% compared to what was recorded in 2016.
The Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) reported that "...Average daily per capita expenditure made by non-residents who arrived in the country was 44.9 dollars, which represents growth of 0.2percent with respect to 2016. The biggest expense was reported by tourists from North and South America."
In 2016 tour operators handled the arrival of 58,000 tourists who spent an average of $140 per day, and also provided their services to another 66,000 visitors who arrived on their own.
According to the study "Impact of Tour Operators in the Development of Tourism in Nicaragua", prepared by the American University (UAM) and the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur) " ...
Between 2010 and 2016, the number of tourism companies grew by 47%, and in the same period, the number of transport companies and travel operators increased by 320% and 160%, respectively.
In 2010 the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute counted 62 businesses dedicated to providing travel organization services, and last year, this figure reached 161, thanks to the growth experienced in tourism in the country.
In the second quarter of the year, incoming tourism recorded an average stay of 10.3 days, reflecting a year-on-year change of 7.1% and 3.5% compared to the first quarter of 2017.
From a report by the Central Bank:
On August 23, 2017, the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) published the Tourism Survey Report for the second quarter of 2017.
Last year 62,500 people arrived in the country aboard cruise ships, registering a 35% growth compared with the previous year.
Figures from the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute's Statistics Bulletin for 2016 reveal an increase in the number of tourists who arrived in the country aboard cruise ships, as well as other data relevant to the tourism sector.
The average european tourist plans trips less than a year in advance and searches and books tour packages via the internet, without using intermediaries.
A study by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to identify best prospectsfound that"... generally Europeans decide on their holiday destination less than a year in advance and in most cases organize their trips independently i.e., without using intermediaries. It was also found that the most used methods of finding information include recommendations from friends, search engines and online travel agencies and websites promoting the destinations.
The average daily expenditure per capita rose by 8.5% compared to the previous quarter, led mainly by increased spending by visitors from Europe.
From the report "Tourism Survey III Quarter 2016" by the Central Bank:
In the third quarter of 2016 in terms of inbound tourism, the average daily expenditure per capita recorded a rise of 8.5 percent compared with the previous quarter, mainly driven by increased spending by visitors from Europe (36.1%).The interannual variation of average expenditure was 18.2 percent.In contrast, the average length of stay recorded a fall of 7.5 percent compared with the previous quarter, impacted by less stays by tourists from Europe (-34.3%) and South America (-15.7%).The annual rate of change of the average length of stay was -7.9 percent.
The average amount spent per day by tourists during the second quarter was $44.9, just 2.4% more than in the same period in 2015.
From the report "Tourism Survey II quarter 2016," by the Central Bank:
The average stay of inbound tourism was 9.7 days in the second quarter, reflecting a variation of 13.8 percent year on year and -4.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.The average per capita daily spending by these visitors was $44.9, mainly influenced by expenditure on the part of tourists from North America and Other Regions.This represented a variation of 2.4 percent year on year and 4.4 percent from the previous quarter.