A highway in Panama, a tourist center in Costa Rica and a high rise residential complex in Guatemala, are some of the projects planned for the coming months in the region.
The interactive system "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects that are planned in the region.
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.
In the past 12 months, 78 environmental impact studies were submitted to develop hotels, marinas, clubs and beach residences in Central American countries.
Data from the interactive platform "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData:
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.
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).
Go Blue Central America is an interactive map to share with the rest of the world the uniquiness and authenticity of the marine and coastal areas of Central America.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Geographic (NatGeo) presented "Go Blue Central America", an interactive map on the internet designed to promote tourism in the Isthmus.
Despite the downturn in the major economies, more and more tourists traveling the globe are looking for the kind of experiences that Central America has to offer.
The opportunities are there. Demand for tourist destinations such as the ones Central America can offer is firm and is increasing every year.
What is essential is that the quality of tourism services on offer be increased, particularly ensuring that tourists are not affected by the criminal violence that pervades the region.
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. "
Tourism authorities from the region agreed on actions to increase the number of visitors by 20% in 2012 if compared to 2010.
10 million visitors would contribute $8.5 billion in revenue, compared to $6.8 million in 2010, according to estimates from authorities.
Jorge Samayoa, Guatemalan Tourism Minister and host of the event where regional tourism authorities discussed several issues, explained that they will attempt to position the brand “Central America, so small, so big” (Centroamérica, tan pequeña, tan grande) in the international market.