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.
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).
A technical committee composed of various sectors from Petén is developing a brand image to help the development of tourism in the department.
The information was announced by the director of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), Pedro Duchez. This will be the third brand to be developed after Guatemágica in Retalhuleu and Vive Xela in Quetzaltenango.
Building on the momentum that the industry gained from the Central American Cruise Convention 2013 the best tourist sites in the country are being promoted.
According to the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), thanks to the implementation of strategic plans and new campaigns, the results from cruise tourism have been satisfactory. 628,550 tourists were recorded last year and 668,403 in the first quarter of 2013.
Local operators are negotiating via the Internet with European tour operators, selling the country as a destination for conventions, congresses and incentive trips.
In total 25 companies participated in a virtual exhibition tour along with operators in Europe which concluded yesterday, however, the link www.guatemalaexpo.com/2013/ will continue to operate for a month.
The 2013 edition of Expotur is to receive 180 representatives from international companies at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura on the 9th and 10th of May.
A statement from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT) reads:
Country's Main Tourism Exchange Market Prepares its XXIX Edition
- From 9th to 11th the 29th edition of Expotur will be held at the Convention Center at the Hotel Wyndham San Jose Herradura.
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 ".
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.
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. "