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.
Tourism entrepreneurs attribute the lack of interest in the airport to the scarcity of hotels on the Nicaraguan island and lack of public infrastructure.
La Paloma Airport was presented as an opportunity to increase the flow of tourists and improve the economy in the area but three years after it started operations, only one airline is operating two flights per week to the terminal.
The rate of annual growth of the sector has been estimated at 3%, and to date there are a total of more than one thousand hotels with 14 thousand rooms.
Most hoteliers in Nicaragua agree that growth has been very positive, but they are aware of the need to accelerate the speed with which the sector is developing in order to compete with other destinations with a higher level of sophistication and development in this service.
A bill being discussed in the National Assembly aims to promote the development of business tourism in the country.
Although business tourism is one of the fastest growing segments, not all sectors agree with this bill, because, for some, "... the country still does not have sufficient infrastructure to host these events."
Alvaro Dieguez, president of the Hotel Association of Nicaragua, told elnuevodiario.com that "...
Between January and September, 965,369 tourists arrived in the country, 7.1% more than in the same period in 2013.
From a statement issued by the investment promotion agency of Nicaragua:
Nicaragua, with a steadily growing tourism industry, received 965,369 visitors up to September this year, which is giving rise to new hotel investments, said the executive president of the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute, Intur, Mayra Salinas, yesterday after stating that "on October 21 we will probably pass the one million tourists figure. "
Suppliers and representatives from local hotels and Central Americans will be gathering together in Managua on October 21st to participate in conferences and business appointments.
As a result of tourism growth and increased demand for these services the first edition of the Feria de Nicaragua will be held in the convention center of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Over 150 suppliers and 300 hotel owners are expected to attend.
The Coastal Act passed four years ago encouraged tourism and real estate development in the Pacific.
Businessmen claim that the legal certainty provided by the legislation has resulted in more tourism and real estate projects in coastal areas, but there are still a lack of incentives for investment in projects in the Caribbean.
Adiak Barahona, CEO of Gran Pacifica Resort, told Laprensa.com.ni that "the Coastal Act eliminated uncertainty for landowners near the beach and encouraged the building of homes measuring more than 300 square meters."
The difficulty in finding English speakers is the main bottleneck to Nicaragua's tourism industry.
In 2012, Nicaragua received 241,000 visitors from the U.S., 77,000 from Europe and 30,710 from Canada, representing 30% of the total of the 1.18 million tourists who came into the country.
This segment, very valuable because of its purchasing power, is becoming increasingly difficult for local operators to cater to, due to a shortage of bilingual staff.
Although the figure stood at 45% during the time of the crisis, it shows no variation when compared to in 2010.
The opening of two new hotels is, in the opinion of experts, one of the factors that has influenced the current occupancy rate in the country’s hotel industry.
One of the strategies that the hotels are using to increase the occupancy rates of their facilities is the improvement and expansion of existing infrastructure.