The revival of national tourism was planned for July 15, but due to the current conditions of the covid-19 outbreak, the new date to allow tourism activities at the local level is expected to be August 15.
The spread of the virus forced the Guatemalan authorities to close the borders to visitors, ban commercial flights and restrict tourist activities throughout the country.
During 2019, tourist arrivals to Guatemala increased 6% over the previous year; however, the average stay decreased slightly, from 6.63 days in 2018 to 6.56 days in 2019.
Figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT) show that in 2019 2,559,599 tourists entered the country, a figure 6% higher than the 2,405,902 visitors reported in 2018.
Through a strategy that will be implemented in the coming years, the authorities seek to position the country as a gastronomic destination by 2026.
According to the National Gastronomic Tourism Strategy for the period from 2019 to 2025, to be implemented by the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), the country will work in four axes.
From December 1, 2019, Mundo Maya Volando will begin operating flights between the country's capital and the cities of Quetzaltenango and Huehuetenango.
According to the schedules announced by the airline, flights between the three cities of the country will be available seven days a week and will be operated on three aircraft.
Juan Pablo Nieto, deputy director general of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat), told Prensalibre.com that "... the increase in the number of seats and itineraries to these two destinations requires investment by businessmen and boost the economy and tourism in these departments. Only in the Guatemala route to Huehuetenango the company registered a growth in terms of number of people above 500% and 300% in relation to the number of flights, i.e. that the business of air transport on that route is highly profitable and now with the combination surely there will be new opportunities and hopefully grow the numbers of flights."
With the strategic development of the Guatemala Country Brand, there are expectations in the business sector to jointly promote investments, exports and tourism.
Over the next four years, the country seeks to focus on attracting tourists between the age of 40-70 who are interested in environmentally "sustainable" destinations.
The project, which aims to position Guatemala internationally as a destination for this profile of tourists, is developed by Regenera, a non-governmental organization of Chile, and the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT).
After having carried out the adaptation work on its infrastructure, it reopened the San José Port aerodrome, in Escuintla, which will be used initially for private flights.
The expectation of the authorities is that in addition to private flights that can already be operated in the air terminal located in the Pacific, commercial flights will be scheduled in the future.
During 2018, tourist arrivals to Guatemala reached 2.4 million and the year-on-year increase was 14%. By 2019, the number of visitors is expected to rise to 2.6 million, representing a 10% increase.
According to figures from the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT), it is estimated that between 2018 and 2019, foreign exchange income in the sector will register a 2% increase, going from $1.231 million to $1.249 million.
At the end of 2018, it is projected that the tourist arrivals to the country will register an increase of 13% with respect to 2017, and the currencies generated by the sector could exceed $1.6 billion.
Authorities of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT) reported that if the arrival of tourists increased 13% during 2018, it would be the second consecutive year that the country reports double-digit increases, since between 2016 and 2017 there was a year on year variation of 11% in the number of visitors.
With the aim of promoting the destinations of both countries, businessmen from the hotel sector of Quintana Room, Mexico, seek to create alliances with Guatemalan tour operators.
In Guatemala, a business meeting is held between Guatemalan tourism businessmen and a group of Mexican executives, headed by representatives of the Posadas hotel chain.
One of the main objectives of the convention, which will end on November 25th, is to increase the number of visitors through the implementation of a tourist tour from Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Chetumal and Tikal to Antigua Guatemala.
In Guatemala, the 2017-2018 cruise season closed with the arrival of 115 vessels, exceeding by 20% those reported in the previous period.
According to statistics from the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT) in the 2017-2018 season, the boats that docked on the coasts of the country had a total of 152,192 tourists.
Jorge Mario Chajon, director of Inguat, said to Dca.gob.gt that "...
The three companies that took part in the process to develop the Guatemala country brand were ruled out because they did not comply with all of the requirements demanded in the tender documents.
The tender for the contract for the strategic development service of a Country Brand for Guatemala ended up being declared void by the Bidding Board of the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat).
To encourage the arrival of more tourists, the Inguat will be investing the funds in a new advertising campaign, which will target the markets of North America, South America and Europe.
With the aim of reactivating the flow of tourists into the country, which suffered a slowdown after the disasters caused by the eruption of the Volcán de Fuego, the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat) will be implementing a campaign that will have a reach of 120 million people in the markets of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
During the next months the Guatemalan government intends to bring into operation the aerodromes of Puerto San José, Cobán, Huehuetenango and Esquipulas.
Guatemalan authorities reported that the first project that will be launched will be the renovation of the San José Port aerodrome, in the department of Escuintla, which will require an approximate investment of $272 thousand.
Explained by the arrival of Salvadoran and American visitors, from January to February 2018 the country received 390,919 tourists, 16% more than in the same period in 2017.
According to figures from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (Inguat), 40% of tourists who came into the country in the first two months of the year were Salvadorans, when a total of 155,765 visitors were reported.