One of the strategic bets that the administration of President Nayib Bukele has promoted in the last three years consists of improving public recreational spaces, in order to increase both internal and external tourist demand.
The president of the Salvadoran Institute of Tourism (ISTU), Eny Aguiñada, pointed out that with the new management they have worked so that each of the centers and parks that the country has are places of healthy recreation, where you can enjoy the natural wealth.
“We have improved the infrastructure of swimming pools, health services, common food areas, sports areas, amphitheaters, and courts. Little by little we have intervened in the 14 parks distributed throughout the country,” added the official.
In this sense, Aguiñada reported that the tourism portfolio has invested more than $30 million in improvements to tourist destinations such as the Surf City “Walter Thilo Deininger” Adventure Park, the El Puerto de La Libertad Amusement Park, and the pier of Usulutan in El Triunfo.
A total of $2.6 million was invested in the development of a new recreational space where extreme sports can be enjoyed.
«In the adventure park you can go hiking and there is an interpretive center. We are showing that first-class and quality spaces can be managed by the public”, she detailed.
Likewise, the head of the ISTU pointed out that in the coming weeks the Amusement Park of El Puerto de La Libertad will be inaugurated, the first permanent amusement park in the country and the first in Central America to be built in front of the coastal zone.
In other figures, Aguiñada said that, due to the government’s initiatives to improve security and open opportunities to micro and small entrepreneurs, in the first quarter of the year a collection of $99.7 million was recorded in domestic tourism, a growth of 22% compared to the same period in 2019.
“Salvadorans feel safer going out and enjoying the destinations that the country offers, those that they have not visited for years or those that are new. This boosts the economy », she said.
On the other hand, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government disbursed $1.2 million so that Salvadorans who are members of the tourism sector could recover due to the drop in their operations.