Sustainable tourism, the commitment to change the social and economic reality in Central America – English version

The Central American region received 24.5 million visitors in 2023, compared to 21.5 million in 2019.

Sustainable and strategically thought-out tourism “can change and transform the social and economic situation of a country,” Boris Iraheta, general secretary of the Central American Tourism Promotion Agency (CATA), said in an interview.

CATA’s general secretary also said the region is at its “best moment”. The tourism sector of the countries covering an area of ​​522,762 square kilometers that unites North and South America has managed to recover after the pandemic.

The Central American region received 24.5 million visitors in 2023, compared to 21.5 million in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic that wreaked havoc on Central American economies.

Strategically thought-out tourism

Iraheta assured from San Salvador that “strategically thought tourism, thinking from economic, social and environmental sustainability, can change and turn the economic and social situation of a country.”

CATA is an entity belonging to the Central American Integration System (SICA) that promotes the entire region as a tourist destination. The countries that make up this agency are Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

According to the Secretary General of CATA, there has been a “change in the perception regarding the security” of the countries, as in the case of El Salvador, which, in combination with the different tourist destinations offered by the countries, makes the region compete with other destinations. in the world.

For this reason, he emphasized, sustainable tourism “is an activity that must be committed to,” but he stressed that this must be done “in an orderly and strategic way, that is, thinking now about the starting point of any tourism. plans in the world.” based on ecological, economic and social sustainability.

“This approach helps in deriving requirements, because we think about how we can make the tourist destination sustainable for the population living there, how we will train people so that they continue to work in the sector (…) and how we integrate everyone, the actors,” he explained.

He recalled that the largest number of companies operating in the tourism sector in the region are micro and small businesses, which in turn depend on local people involved in this activity. “Countries are investing much more in tourism, they see it positively, with greater integration for a new tourism,” he said.

A model comparable to Europe, of free movement

He assured that “Central America is easy to circulate, it is conducive to multiple destinations, although the challenge today is to improve this connectivity, to facilitate circulation through countries such as in Europe. We must look, he emphasized, at a model of free movement that is comparable to Europe.”

Iraheta emphasized that Central America “combines the sun and sand of the Caribbean and the Pacific with the Mayan world of archaeological and cultural tourism and nature tourism.” “It is a unique destination in the world. Isthmus that bridges the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, between the north and south (of America),” he added.

Recently, the countries of the region presented their tourism offers in San Salvador to representatives of airlines, businessmen and tourists, during an event involving CATA, the Federation of Chambers of Tourism of Central America and the Salvadoran Ministry of Tourism.

It was the Central American Travel Market 2024 fair, the most important event in the region for its ability to bring together key players in the sector, in which, among others, senior officials of the governments of the region and representatives of the tourism sector willing to were to promote tourism from Central America and the Dominican Republic, organizers said. (https://thecostaricanews.com/sustainable-tourism-the-commitment-to-change-social-and-economic-realities-in-central-america/)