The rise of the Internet as a means of organizing and booking travel is generating headaches for companies in the sector, which agree that the strategy should be to focus on marketing complete packages in very specific market niches.
The difficult financial situation that the agency Viajes Colon is going through in Costa Rica is just one example of the problems that have affected travel agencies for several years.
Taking measures to reactivate the productive sectors, make better use of public-private partnerships and boost tourism is part of what the private sector expects from the Panamanian government in the coming year.
Six months before the Cortizo administration takes office, Panama's business sector is asking it to make the decisions the economy needs to be able to continue on the path of development, and above all, not to lose competitiveness both domestically and in relation to its peers in the region, and to be able to continue to attract foreign investment.
Authorities report that during 2018 arrived in the country 1.4 million visitors, a figure that is 28% lower than the 1.9 million recorded in 2017, a decline explained by the social and political crisis that the country is going through since April last year.
With several months in arrears, the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism published the report on the country's tourism situation, which reflects that after the sector came growing steadily, during 2018 collapsed because of the crisis.
In the 2019 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala fell back in the ranking, while the Dominican Republic was the only country that improved.
According to the report prepared by the World Economic Forum, during 2019 Costa Rica ranked 41 out of 140 countries. It was followed by Panama at box 47, the Dominican Republic at 73, Nicaragua at 91, Honduras at 94, Guatemala at 99 and El Salvador at 108.
During the first quarter of 2019, tourism revenues totaled $113 million, 56% less than reported in the same period of 2018, because of the crisis that the country has been going through for more than a year.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN), between the first quarter of 2018 and the same period of 2019, tourismrevenues decreased by $143 million, from $256 million to $113 million.
The political crisis that has been going on for more than a year has led wholesale travel agencies to remove the country from their portfolio of tourist destinations because of insecurity.
Claudia Aguirre, president of the Nicaraguan Association of Receptive Tourism (Antur), explained to Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "... 2019 is proving to be a difficult year, as the crisis that began in April last year is impacting current activities and the outlook is bleak for the coming months."
From May 9 to 10 in Costa Rica Expotur 2019 will be held at the National Convention Center, which will bring together 230 international buyers from the tourism sector from 35 countries.
Erasmo Rojas, president of the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (Acoprot), explained to Nacion.com that "... The activity consists of two days of negotiations and alliances that allow revitalize the tourist offer each year and generate millions of dollars in tourist currency for accommodations, food and transportation."
From May 24-25, 160 wholesalers from Europe, North America and South America will meet at the ATLAPA Convention Center, with tourism companies from the region to explore business opportunities.
The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and the Chamber of Tourism of Panama with the support of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), organize the 10th version of International EXPO TOURISM to be held in Panama City.
Because of the crisis affecting the country since April last year, it is estimated that during 2018 the losses of the Nicaraguan tourism sector totaled $440 million, and more than 62 thousand jobs disappeared.
The arrival of tourists to the country is another figure reporting a considerable decline last year, since between 2017 and 2018 the number of visitors who came to Nicaragua fell 55%, going from 1.7 million to 800 thousand.
In 2018, the number of international tourists who arrived in the countries of the region fell 2% compared to 2017, in contrast to the increases of 4% and 3% recorded in North and South America, respectively.
According to the report of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) presented on January 21, the results recorded last year in Central America are partly because of behavior in some countries, as in the cases of Panama and Nicaragua were recorded declines in tourism.
At the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, touristic companies in Nicaragua were reporting a good performance, but the political situation in the country has generated a crisis that is still unsolved.
In 2017, tourism generated $840 million in revenue for the Nicaraguan economy, 31% more than in 2016, growth that improved the companies' expectations at the beginning of the year, since in the first quarter of 2018 the forecasts were that by the end of this year revenues could reach $900 million.
The sector's guild reported that 24 charter flights scheduled to arrive in the country from Canada were cancelled between December and February 2019.
The representatives of the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (Canatur) confirmed that with the cancellation of flights, will stop arriving between 2,000 and 3,000 tourists.
The union has reported that five months after the outbreak of the social and political crisis in Nicaragua, the country has lost about 68,000 of the 120,000 jobs generated by the sector.
The National Chamber of Tourism (Canatur) presented a report highlighting the impact of the country's social and political crisis on the tourism sector.
Between the first and second quarters of the year, the average daily per capita expenditure made by tourists who arrived in Nicaragua fell from $45.7 to $37.7.
Reducing prices to attract local tourists is the main strategy being used by Nicaraguan tourism entrepreneurs in areas such as Tola, San Juan del Sur and Ometepe Island.
In Nicaragua, the sharp drop in the flow of tourists as a result of the crisis that has been affecting the country since April has forced entrepreneurs, particularly small and medium-sized ones, to vary their strategies in order to try to generate income and sustain operations.
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