President Carlos Alvarado and the Minister of Tourism Gustavo Segura, signed the Law for the Promotion of Tourist Marinas and Coastal Development, a regulation that modernizes the conditions in which the country's marinas operate.
The law, signed on April 5, authorizes foreign-flagged vessels and their crews to carry out lucrative activities related to aquatic transportation, recreation and tourism within the waters of the national territory, allowing the hiring of national captains and sailors to carry out these practices, informed the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT).
Due to the outbreak of covid-19 worldwide and restrictions on passenger transportation, only 1.01 million visitors arrived in the country during 2020, 68% less than what was reported in 2019, when 3.14 million tourists arrived.
Although the fall in tourist arrivals was generally resounding, during the last months of 2020 a more favorable behavior was reported.
Attracting executives, pensioners and people willing to work remotely from Costa Rica, who extend their stay in the country for long periods, are some of the business opportunities that businessmen have detected in the current commercial scenario.
Although the sector is practically in the zero season, since the outbreak of covid-19 Costa Rica closed the borders to tourism, and during April and May there were practically no visitors to the country, the businessmen are beginning to prepare themselves to face the new commercial reality that arose from this abrupt change in the ways that people relate to each other on a global level.
As a result of the covid19 outbreak, Costa Rica closed its borders to tourism and during April and May practically no visitors entered the country, a situation that will persist in the coming months due to the slow reactivation of the sector.
In order to mitigate the advance of the virus, by means of a government decree the authorities ordered that as of March 18 only Costa Ricans and residents could enter the country.
The lack of definition of the date when Guatemala's borders will be reopened causes uncertainty among local entrepreneurs in the sector, which is going through one of the most severe crises due to the covid-19 outbreak.
As a result of the spread of the virus, the Guatemalan authorities suspended commercial flights and closed the borders to tourists. In addition, tourist sites were ordered to be closed and the movement of people between departments restricted.
Refinancing the debts of tourism companies, reviewing the exchange rate policy so that the country is not a very expensive destination and recovering the category of aviation security are some of the actions that the government should focus on to prevent the bankruptcy of this sector.
In addition to the millions of investments that have been made in this sector, it is very important for the country because according to official figures for 2019, its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product amounts to about 7%.
Businessmen in Guatemala estimate that patients who visit the country with the aim of buying medical treatment will take between 9 months and a year to regain confidence in making the trip.
The sector is practically paralyzed, since due to the covid-19 outbreak worldwide, several countries have decided to close their borders and air terminals, and airlines are keeping their units on the ground.
New health and hygiene protocols in the establishments and the commitment to attract national tourists in an environment where short trips will be preferred, are some of the trends predicted in the new "normality" that will come after the quarantine period.
Given the quarantines decreed by most governments worldwide, it is anticipated that the habits of tourists will change dramatically in the short and medium term, as the crisis of covid-19 will leave consequences among consumers.
Within the framework of the national emergency declared by the government due to the crisis of the covid19, the decision was taken to suspend from March 19 to April 12, 2020, the entry of foreigners to the country.
In the case of flights, a decree instructs that from this Wednesday March 18 from 23:59 until 23:59 Sunday April 12, 2020 only Costa Ricans and residents may enter the country, explains a statement from the Ministry of Health.
During the first month of the year, 215,607 visitors arrived to the country, a figure that is 18% less than the one reported for the same period in 2019.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that between January 2019 and the same month of 2020 48,696 tourists arrived to the country less, from 264,303 to 215,607 visitors. The report states that in the case of cruise ship passengers, the number increased by 130%, from 10,822 to 24,868.
After the outbreak of covid-19, the government decided that as of March 15 the Yaxhá and El Mirador national parks in Petén, and the Semuc Champey Natural Monument in Alta Verapaz would be closed to the public.
According to the provisions made by the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei and inter-institutional coordination with government entities, as a measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus covid-19, the decision was made to close several tourist sites, reported the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP).
Some of the most notable effects caused by the spread of covid-19 is the cancellation of at least 8,000 hotel nights in Costa Rica, and the interruption by Iberia of its flights from Madrid to Guatemala and San Salvador.
Businessmen in the region agree that due to the virus that has been spreading from China, supply chains have been interrupted, which is combined with a drop in the transit of people, causing losses to the tourism sector.
During 2019, 5.36 million foreign tourists arrived in the country, a figure 5% lower than that reported in 2018, a drop that can be explained by the news published in the middle of the year regarding the death of several American tourists in the hotels of Punta Cana.
The Dominican tourism sector was the focus of an unfortunate media campaign about unfortunate events that occurred to some tourists from the United States of America in some hotels in the country during the first half of 2019, which generated a high volume of cancellations in air bookings scheduled by travelers to the Dominican Republic, reflected in a year-on-year drop in the number of foreign visitors, reported the Central Bank.
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.
Salvadoran authorities estimate that the income left by tourists who visited the country last year reached $1.777 billion, 16% more than that registered in 2018.
Estimates made by the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) indicate that between 2018 and 2019 the number of tourists visiting El Salvador increased by nearly 4% from 2.5 million to 2.6 million.
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