In the view of entrepreneurs the increase of 12% in the flow of tourists reported by the Inguat in 2014 is not real, as they state that this includes people crossing the border but not for reasons of tourism activities.
Representatives from the Commission on Sustainable Tourism at the Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport) argue that "... 40% of visitors to El Salvador are not real, since many cross the border to take advantage of the exchange rate. The same is true with the 56% increase of Chinese tourists, many of whom are workers. "
The event held at the Atlapa convention center on September 26th and 27th will bring together wholesale companies from Europe, America and Asia with tourism companies from Panama and the region.
From a statement issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP):
(Panama, June 17, 2014). Over 150 wholesale operators from America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean who have great interest in tourism in Panama, will meet in the fifth edition of the INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXPO, to be held on 26 and 27 September.
In the Summer Fair to be held on the 28th and 29th of March tourism companies from Latin America and the U.S. will see the country's tourism supply.
On the 28th and 29th March the second edition of the Summer Fair will be held in Nicaragua, in which tourism businesses from Latin America and the United States will get to see the tourism services on offer in the country, confirmed the National Chamber of Tourism (CANTUR).
Tourist Companies in Central America will be presenting their services and participating in business conferences from 14th to 16th of May in San Jose.
The Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT) will be holding on the 14th to 16th of May, the Expotur International Tourism Fair 2014. More than 300 representatives from tourism companies in Costa Rica and Central America will gather in San Jose to present their services and take part in business conferences.
Af the end of the second exhibition for tour operators projections are that $5.7 million has been transacted in business deals which will materialize in the medium term.
This was confirmed by Ana Mercedes de Lembke, president of the Guatemalan Chamber of Tourism (Camtur). The activity which ended yesterday, included 1,145 business meetings between 40 local tourist service companies and international buyers from 15 countries where Guatemala was not included as a tourist destination.
From 10 to 16 October there will be a meeting of wholesalers and tour operators to promote the country's tourist destinations.
The event will be held at the Hotel Barceló Guatemala City. So far 1,600 appointments have been arranged , and projections are that deals will be closed worth $4 million, according to the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT).
The Guatemalan Tourism Institute plans to spend $1 million on online campaigns to promote Guatemala as a tourist destination.
According to Peter Duchez, director of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat), as time passes Guatemala must be promoted online, as 95% of the decisions taken by tourists are based on the Internet.
Siglo21.com.gt reports that "Canada, the U.S., Mexico as well as El Salvador and Honduras are the countries where the Inguat will intensify its promotion of the country as a holiday destination.This will be done, without neglecting countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Chile, which are the priority niches in tourism ".
With the European crisis and the fall in the number of visitors from that region, the Guatemalan Tourist industry is promoting itself in emerging countries and others where there are travelers with high purchasing power.
Pedro Pablo Duchez, director of the Guatemalan Institute, Inguat, spoke at the opening of the Travel Market, saying,
"We have identified that European tourists have restricted their trips and are traveling inside Europe which is why we need new spaces for promotion ....
From 26 to 27 November the Guatemala Travel Market Expo & Conference 2012 will take place at the Grand Tikal Futura Hotel.
The event is being organized by the Guatemalan Chamber of Tourism and the Guatemalan Tourism Institute, and aims to be a window for promoting the country as a tourist destination and a platform for generating business among participants in the tourism sector.
Guatemala's hotel sector is concerned about lack of inclusion of the tourism category within the country’s investment promotion policies.
The first version of the National Competitiveness Agenda excludes the tourism sector, confirmed Jaime Day, director of the National Competitiveness Program, who said it would be added in the new version of the agenda.
The Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat) has directly hired the firm Arnold & Porter to promote the country in six countries and attract investors.
The objective of the $575,000 contract is encourage countries to withdraw warnings issued to its citizens not to visit Guatemala.
Pedro Duchez, Inguat’s director, said "We looked for a company with the experience, the tenacity and enough connections to make a lobby, to try to mitigate the contents of consular documents and attract tourists."
The Ministries of Tourism in Central America have announced their intention to form a regional strategy to promote tourist destinations in the isthmus.
Reinforcing some intentions expressed in previous ministerial meetings, the government sector is proposing offering tourists the region "in one trip."
An article in Prensalibre.com reports that the chief executive of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur), Mario Salinas, said: "We are going promote on the website, in European tourism fairs, two, three, four, five countries (as a destination), and not promote Panama or Nicaragua only, we will encourage (them to come and see) Central America. "
With 52 weeks and one day before December 21, 2012, when some believe that the Mayans predicted the end of an era, the country has begun a series of activities to attract visitors.
The activities planned include archaeological conventions, concerts, exhibitions and gastronomic events, among other things.
The Chamber of Tourism of Guatemala (Camtur) expects to receive about 2 million 25 thousand visitors in 2012, up 8% from 2011.
AGEXPORT has presented trade promotion strategies that will be launched to position Guatemala as a center for medical care and wellbeing on an international level.
AGEXPORT’s press release states:
On November 9 2011, in Guatemala, AGEXPORT’s Tourism Commission for Health and Welfare presented trade promotion strategies that will be launched to position Guatemala as an international center for medical care and wellbeing.