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.
On June 21 and 22 local and foreign tourist companies will be meeting to discuss issues such as using technology as a tool for promotion and hearing about successful experiences from other countries.
From a statement issued by the Tourism Authority of Panama:
The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) and the Panamanian Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR) will be holding from June 21 to 22 the first National Tourism Convention "Juntos por Panama" (CONATUR), to establish a strategy with all stakeholders in the sector, which will strengthen the country's tourism supply.
The plan proposed by the Ministry of Tourism includes amending tourism land use, improving the promotion of the sector and implementing training programs for companies.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The text of the Plan is not available online.
As reported in an article on Laprensagrafica.com, implementation of the plan will begin in the town of San Lorenzo, and it is expected that the remainder of the year specific programs will be designed for Suchitoto, Izalco, Panchimalco, Perquín and San Vicente. This plan includes the participation of municipal authorities, the private sector and government.
As the nation with the greatest potential visitors, the U.S. has chosen Costa Rica as the site of an Advisory Council to promote the northern country as a tourist destination throughout Central America.
After receiving complaints about the amount of paperwork that has to be filled out and visa requirements needed in order to visit the country for tourism as well as the slow speed of processing, the government has decided to implement the Brand USA Act, to streamline procedures and facilitate the promotion of the country as a tourist destination.
A promotion exercise is being carried out of the "Best Service" certification in the region in order to improve service and positioning of SMEs in tourism.
In order to improve the service and prestige of small and medium tourism enterprises in the region, the Federation of Tourism Chambers of Central America (FEDECATUR) is promoting the "Best Service" certification.
With the signing of an agreement with the tourism wholesaler El Corte Inglés, 600 agencies in Europe and Latin America will promote the country as a tourist destination.
From Monday, 600 agencies which are part of the Spanish tour operator El Corte Ingles, distributed in Europe and Latin America, began promoting El Salvador as one of their destinations.
What is needed is simple and effective governments that put an end to the bureaucracy that limits the integration of tourism in the region.
So says Epaminondas Marinakys, president of the Federation of Tourism Chambers of Central America (FEDECATUR). The official believes that the governments of the region must adjust their border rules in order to expedite the passage of tourists from one place to another.
From September 6th to 8th the first exhibition to promote tourism in El Salvador will be held, directed mainly at the U.S. market.
The event will be held at the International Center for Fairs and Conventions (Cifco). "This will be a meeting point for Salvadoran and international wholesale businesses with those who want to strengthen trade ties to boost sales of Salvadoran destinations in Canada, the United States and Mexico", reported Elmundo.com.sv.
With an investment of one million dollars the authorities have set a goal of attracting 72,000 foreign tourists during Easter week.
The Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) and the Salvadoran Tourism Corporation (CORSATUR) have joined forces to launch advertising campaigns, both inside and outside of El Salvador, to encourage foreign tourists to come and stay in the country during Easter week.
The Central American region is attempting to become more integrated in the way it promotes itself.
Although each Central American country has its own unique characteristics, their geographic proximity and similarities, among other things, are elements that can be used to raise the region’s profile as a worldwide tourist destination.
These were the conclusions reached at the VIII Central American Travel Market, CATM 2011, one of the isthmus’s more relevant tourism industry promotion events, which recently took place in Panama.
The region is being promoted in London as a multi-venue touristic destination.
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are presented as a single exhibitor at the International Tourism Fair in London, one of the largest in the world.
"In the first half of 2010, Central America received 4.5 million foreign visitors, representing an increase of 17% over the same period last year," says an article published in Sigloxxi.com.
3.762 business meetings between wholesalers and businessmen in the region took place.
The event featured participation of 158 wholesalers and tour operators from 41 countries, 155 exhibitors from the region and 91 international media.
Laprensagrafica.com published, "This year, seven out of 10 participants attended the fair for the first time, this will open the doors to new business contacts, said Roberto Robles, director of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT). Next year's fair will take place in Panama."
The fair will begin on Monday October 18th with participation of 245 tourism wholesalers.
Countries like China, India, Japan, Russia, Turkey and New Zealand among others will attend the seventh edition of the Central America Travel Market (CATM), which will take place in Antigua Guatemala from the 18th to the 20th of October.
Elperiodico.com.gt informs in an article, "The fair also attracted 207 exhibitors and 111 international media ...
El Salvador's tourism sector is asking the government to correct the lack of an integrated policy that includes security and clear rules for investors.
"The infrastructure component is also important because the road network of highways used by tourists must be in optimum condition with good signage in order to attract local and foreign visitors," reports Elsalvador.com.