With international tourism currently reduced to a trickle due to Covid-19, flight restrictions and border closures, the Nicaragua Tourist Institute (INTUR) has turned to promoting the country’s venues and attractions to the national market. The institute sees this as a way of helping create a solid foundation for the recovery and future development of the tourism sector.
With that plan in mind, INTUR has come up with more than 600 different activities with traditional, cultural, creative, recreational, sporting, faith based and culinary activities. The whole idea is to encourage Nicaraguans to explore their own country, take in the natural beauty and be entertained by some special cultural events that best compliment the different regions that make up Nicaragua, ¡Única y Original!
Co-Director Anasha Campbell from INTUR announced the program at a press conference during which she said that these 600 activities would also promote the country’s heritage, the role of women, its youth and the indigenous people. All of this will be tied into a theme of promoting Nicaragua to national and international tourists as a country offering safety, hospitality, optimism, quality, authenticity and originality.
Campbell assured the tourism industry that INTUR will continue to take advantage of the long weekends and special holiday times to encourage national tourism and contribute to the local economy. They will work with them in the development of tourist packages and excursions as well as with municipal authorities and institutions in promoting the national campaigns.
In addition, the Nicaragua Tourist Institute has committed to a marketing, advertising and an information dissemination program directed towards both national and international audiences as they continue to promote and position Nicaragua internationally. Campbell guaranteed that Nicaragua would be presented at the most relevant meetings and international tourism events in 2021, including; the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization and the Central American Tourism Council.
Private Sector
Lucy Valenti is the President of the National Chamber of Tourism of Nicaragua (CANATUR by its acronym in Spanish) and represents many of the tourism businesses that are currently suffering. Her opinion has not changed since the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua re-opened last July after the Covid-19 closure. In a recent interview she again pleaded with the authorities for a relaxation of the Covid-19 related measures that airlines have cited as a runway barrier to regular flights resuming.
Valenti also expressed her concerns that the current ticket pricing is an indication that Nicaragua is losing its competitiveness within the region as some flights to Nicaragua are 3 or 4 times the price of some other countries in Central America. Avianca remains the only scheduled airline operating in and out of Managua airport, supported by the odd charter flight from Eastern Airlines and Copa, the latter stating that the two January and four February flights are only charter flights and they do not have a confirmed date for scheduled flights to return.
I live in Laguna Apoyo, which is an area that depends on tourism.
In the last few weeks, I have seen a large increase in the number of Nicaraguans visiting the restaurants, bars and beaches of Laguna Apoyo. In fact, a few weeks ago, one of the restaurants was full. When I finished eating there, I left my table as soon as possible to make an open table for the next customers.
All of that is a very good sign. However, almost all of these customers come in for a few hours and then go home again, which means almost no one is using the hotel/hostel rooms. And that was the largest income source for these resort owners, before the revolution and COVID. Until international tourists return to the country, the Nicaraguan tourism sector will never fully recover.
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