In May, 34,400 foreign tourists arrived in the country by air, almost 40% less than in the same month last year.
The political and social crisis that the country is experiencing continues to cause havoc in the Nicaraguan economy, with tourism being one of the most affected sectors.According to statistics from the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur), in April, the month in which the crisis began, there was a year-on-year decrease of 16% in the number of visitors that entered by air, falling from 60,116 to 50,450.
Tour operators report the cancellation of almost 100% of the reserves for this year, and foresee that this situation will extend until 2019.
The crisis in which the country has been submerged since April 14 has brought a lot of negative consequences to the tourism sector.One of them is the one presented by representatives of the Nicaraguan Association of Receptive Tourism (Antur), since tour operators are registering cancellation levels of between 90% and 100%.
Due to the crisis affecting the country, the tourist sector union estimates that hotels, hostels and restaurants are facing losses of around $100 million.
As a result of the social crisis that the country has been suffering from for two weeks, representatives from the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur), reported that for the next few days hotel reservations have been canceled almost in their entirety, while restaurants are working at 15% capacity.
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."
Although major hotel brands claim not to be affected, the growing supply of houses and apartments for short stays, is forcing hotels to change their methods of attracting guests in order to survive.
Airbnb, VRBO and Homeaway are just some of the countless websites where owners rent their houses or apartments to tourists, who increasingly opt for this alternative to conventional hotels worldwide, and Central America is no exception. In Panama, despite the fact that there is a law against renting apartments to tourists for less than 45 days, which is punishable with a $50 thousand fine for repeat offenders, this alternative type of rental accommodation is still growing.
So far in 2013 the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism has added $50 million to projects in the tourism sector.
"A total of $50.1 million has been approved by the board of incentives in its first nine sessions, which has superseded the goals set for 2013," said Mayra Salinas, chief executive of the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur).
The natural revitalization in preserved areas such as Mombacho Volcano, Granada islets and the archaeological park on Zapatera Island are part of the recovery plan.
From a press release issued by the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism (Intur):
Through means of more than fifty of activities to be held this year, INTUR will be united with tourism businesses, the Alcaldías del Poder Ciudadano de Granada, as well as other government institutions, as part of the relaunch of Granada as a tourism destination.
The mandatory stop at reception is being eliminated in favor of computerized registration and welcome processes.
This is what happens for example in small boutique hotels in Amsterdam, London and Glasgow, Scotland, where guests check in at a kiosk and go directly to their rooms, only stopping to talk to a hotel clerk if they have any questions. In other cases, guests make reservations online, by e-mail in order to get their room allocation and the key code.
The Chinese are in third place in terms of expenditure on travel, just behind the United States and Germany. By 2015 they will be in second place.
According to the latest Global Trends Report, spending on accommodation by Chinese tourists in 2011 will amount to around $57 billion, ranking them third behind the Americans and Germans.
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