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.
After the year 2017 provided the sector with income of $840 million, 31% more than in 2016, the union has carried out a new review and plans to generate up to $900 million this year.
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) " ...
The coast of the department of Rivas harbours not only beaches, but also thermal springs, forests and lagoons, but there is no infrastructure to take advantage of this touristic potential.
The plan by a group of tourist entrepreneurs in the area is to develop, with the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism, a medium and long term plan to turn the area into a pole for tourism development.Two hours from Liberia's international airport in Costa Rica, the coastal strip of the municipalities of Buenos Aires, San Jorge, Rivas and Cárdenas is considered by the private sector as a "tourist treasure".
Companies in the sector expect to generate $660 million in revenue this year, mainly driven by an increase in tourist spending.
In addition to an increase in the number of visitors to the country, companies in the sector also expect a rise in the average daily expenditure of tourists, which at the close of the third quarter registered anincrease of 8.5% compared to the previous quarter.
It has been announced that the Canadian airline Air Transat made 28 flights from Montreal and Toronto between December 2016 and March 2017.
The Nicaraguan Institute of Civil Aeronautics (INAC) told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that"... flights will start arriving from 19 December and will continue until March 2017. Tourists will mainly vacation in a beach hotel on the Nicaraguan Pacific."
Lack of control of unofficial businesses that are setting up on the coasts is preventing further development in areas with high tourism potential such as San Juan del Sur.
The business community argues that the Law for the Development of Coastal and Environmental Conservation is not being complied with, as unofficial businesses such as restaurants and hotels are being allowed to set upon the coasts.
The union of private companies is preparing a plan for promoting tourism development in San Juan del Sur and Tola, where more than $130 million has already been invested.
The area of San Juan del Sur and Tola, Rivas, has all the characteristics needed to become a tourist destination, but basic infrastructure in the area needs to be improved along with conditions to attract more foreign investment.
Average daily spending per tourist fell by 13.4% compared to 2014, with average stays registered of 17 days.
From a statement issued by the Central Bank:
The Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) has published the annual results of inbound and outbound tourism, corresponding to 2015.
According to data published by the NCBs, the per capita average daily expenditure realized by non-resident visitors who entered the country in this period was $41.5, mainly driven by spending on the part of tourists from South and North America, a result similar to 2014 ($41.8).
The plan is to invest $4 million in the first stage of a tourist complex of 22 blocks, including a residential area, a hotel, two club houses and a restaurant, 5 km from San Juan del Sur, in Nicaragua.
Southern Coastal Properties, founded with US capital, is the developer of the project and its president, Joshua Taylor, told Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "...
At the end of 2014 110 hotels were operating in the main tourist city of Nicaragua, where three new establishments plan to open to the public during the year.
Tax incentives granted by the Nicaraguan government have allowed employers in the hotel sector to increase their investment in Granada, which in 2014 received 521,000 tourists, according to figures from the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism.
The Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism has unveiled a strategy which aims to increase the number of tourists especially in summer, promoting the main tourist routes in the country.
It is expected that the plan called "Nicaragua Our Summer 2015", will be implemented from February and will run until April this year. It also seeks to implement new measures to increase the daily expenditure of tourists which until September 2014 was $43.
In the first five months of the year the country received 42,000 more tourists than in the same period in 2013.
Confirming the upward trend in the flow of tourists coming to Nicaragua, in the first five months of the year alone 545,174 tourists visited, 8.3% more than in the same period in 2013, when the figure was 503,077.
The executive president of the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute, Mayra Salinas said in an article on Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "... between 2007 and 2013, the number of tourists visiting Nicaragua grew by 65%."