Nicaragua, the tourism hotspot for summer break

April 2, 2013 - PRLog -- According to Mario Salinas, President of the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR, for its acronym in Spanish), over 51 thousand tourists visited the country during Holy Week, generating tourism receipts of up to US$40 million during this period. This demonstrated a 9.3 percent growth rate in 2013 in tourism arrivals in comparison to 2012. In addition, more than 3 million Nicaraguans travelled within the country during the same week.

The country’s tourism growth is mainly due the attractiveness of its natural resources, high personal safety, and the many new tourism developments in the past years. According to Mayra Salinas, Vice President of INTUR, these positive figures demonstrate that Nicaragua continues to be an international renowned tourism destination.

In order to prepare for this tourist-attractive holiday, the Government of Nicaragua, through INTUR implemented a summer plan with a budget of almost US$400,000, in order to improve the infrastructure of the five most popular beaches. In addition, businesses at these popular tourist destinations were trained and various events were organized including 8 cooking contests and 49 sport activities.

Another growing branch within the tourism sector is the amount of cruises arriving in Nicaragua, with a total of 11 cruises with 13,000 tourists in March alone. Additionally, figures show that the colonial city of León has undergone a rapid growth lately, with 50,500 tourists in 2012 compared to the 9 thousand tourists in 2006, showcasing a historic 461 percent growth rate.

According to INTUR, more than 1,280,000 tourists are expected to arrive this year in Nicaragua, creating revenue of over US$463 million. This would mean an 8.8 percent growth rate in tourists and a 10.2 percent growth in revenue.