Using big data management techniques, it is possible to know, with greater precision than with traditional methods, the socio-demographic characteristics, tastes, preferences and interests of consumers living in a specific area of a city or of groups of people who visit particular stores.
Nowadays, with the large volumes of data that exist, it is possible to examine absolute and relative numbers of potential customers of a shopping center or business that are in any other location.
In the last months of 2020 and in January 2021, interest in travel agency services and other tourism-related services began to increase, a rise that was most evident in Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project demand trends in the short and long term, for the different products, sectors and markets operating in the region.
The amount of visitors arrivals to Central America and the Dominican Republic shows a downward trend since 2016, which was consolidated in 2019 and worsened in 2020, a phenomenon that is explained by the events recorded in the extra-regional market.
Between 2015 and 2019, the countries of the SICA region, the average growth rate of visitor arrivals was 4.9%, where only in 2019 there was a negative rate of -0.2%, highlights a document of the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration (SITCA) published in January 2021.
The risks involved when visiting a destination and the possibility of making reservations with less notice are fundamental factors that consumers will consider when deciding whether or not to take a trip in the coming months.
The outbreak of covid-19 in several countries around the world almost caused air, sea and land transport to disappear, as several governments decided to ban leisure and business travel.
The current scenario of reactivation of commercial flights and tourist activities, are an opportunity for insurers to increase their sales, since the hiring of a policy is a mandatory requirement for tourists to be allowed to travel.
Products that offer a refund in the event of having to cancel the trip due to illness, as well as coverage at the destination if the person becomes ill, both for medical expenses and for lodging in case a quarantine is needed, constitute a great opportunity in this context of the spread of covid-19.
Adapting spaces in the restaurant area, selling themselves to tourists as a clean and safe establishment, are some of the strategies that hotel sector businessmen plan to apply in order to adjust to the new commercial reality resulting from the health emergency.
The spread of covid-19 has forced health authorities to restrict the mobility of people and to close several establishments, with hotels being one of the most affected.
New health and hygiene protocols in the establishments and the commitment to attract national tourists in an environment where short trips will be preferred, are some of the trends predicted in the new "normality" that will come after the quarantine period.
Given the quarantines decreed by most governments worldwide, it is anticipated that the habits of tourists will change dramatically in the short and medium term, as the crisis of covid-19 will leave consequences among consumers.
Some of the most notable effects caused by the spread of covid-19 is the cancellation of at least 8,000 hotel nights in Costa Rica, and the interruption by Iberia of its flights from Madrid to Guatemala and San Salvador.
Businessmen in the region agree that due to the virus that has been spreading from China, supply chains have been interrupted, which is combined with a drop in the transit of people, causing losses to the tourism sector.
A drop in the flow of tourists to the region, cancellation of reservations and the suspension of flights are part of the expected consequences of the spread of the virus worldwide.
According to the report prepared by the Central Bank of Costa Rica called "Commentary on the national economy for February 2020", derived from the outbreak of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus (coronavirus) is expected to report a negative impact on the influx of tourists to the country.
In order to attract tourism from Costa Rica, in the Panamanian province of Chiriqui, investments have been made in the construction of new shopping centers and the expansion of some existing ones.
In addition to plans to modernize the border crossings between the two countries, whose works will favor the transit of tourism, businessmen estimate that in the construction and renovation of shopping centers, Chiriqui has hoarded investments in excess of $500 million.
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.
In 2019 the country will be the host of a meeting of the Regional Commission of the World Tourism Organization for the Americas.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Tourism Institute:
Paraguay, April 13, 2018.Today Guatemala was selected as the venue for the 64th meeting of the Regional Commission of the World Tourism Organization for the Americas (CAM), in the framework of the 63rd meeting of the regional commission, in which they will also be holding the International Seminar on the empowerment of women in Asunción, Paraguay.
In its new warning system for tourists, the US government included Panama and Costa Rica at the lowest risk level, Nicaragua at level 2 and Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, in the category "Reconsider Travel".
The US Department of State has announced modifications to its system of travel alerts and recommendations to citizens considering traveling to other countries.The new advisory system divides nations into four levels, according to the risks present in each country.
Businessmen from the Panamanian tourist sector welcome the arrival of Air China flights in March 2018, but consider it will be a challenge to attract a type of tourist that seems to prefer very different destinations than those offered by Central America.
In a region which for many years has specialized in serving North American tourists and more recently Europeans, preparing to provide the attention demanded by tourists from China will be a challenge, according to the Panamanian tourism entrepreneurs themselves.
Panama received 2.5 million tourists in 2015 and double the amount of foreign income received by Costa Rica from the 2.6 million who visited that country in the same year.
The number of tourists who went to Panama in 2015 exceeded by 10.7% the amount recorded in 2014, according to the Tourism Authority of Panama. With the 2.5 million who came last year, the country is very close to matching the record of Costa Rica, which reached 2.6 million.