The Chinese news agency Xinhua highlighted that «El Salvador is in vogue,» emphasizing the country’s international standing and economic boost through the thriving tourism sector under President Nayib Bukele’s administration.
The article, featuring an interview with Salvadoran entrepreneur Carlos Rodríguez, owner of Equinoccio Hotel, a boutique hotel on Coatepeque Lake, underscores the unprecedented duration and sustained high visitor numbers during the current peak tourism season.
Rodríguez noted that traditionally, the high tourism season in El Salvador peaked between November and December, sharply declining by mid-January. However, in 2024, the peak season has extended into February, showcasing an unexpected and prolonged surge in tourism.
«This is something that has never happened in the three years of our operation. We practically have the same influx, perhaps slightly less, but very high, as we experienced in November or December… All of January has been very good, and today, in February, as well, indicating further growth,» Rodriguez shared in the interview with the Chinese media outlet.
The entrepreneur revealed to «Diario El Salvador» that the company’s growth mirrors the sector’s success. Starting with two rooms and two employees in 2019, Equinoccio Hotel now boasts 13 rooms and 20 employees, with plans for further expansion in 2024.
«For the short term, in the next six months, we want to add two more rooms, and it is possible that by the end of the year, we will add one more. This would be an investment of around $70,000… Every weekend, we are missing out on selling between two to four rooms because we no longer have capacity. We need to improve our installed capacity to take advantage of the current demand,» he explained.
Rodriguez also attributed the country’s changing global perception to improved security measures. «Before, the world saw us as a country that couldn’t be visited due to danger and crime. Now, it’s the opposite. Everyone is talking about El Salvador; we are in vogue. The government has done a magnificent job in terms of security, and everyone perceives it,» he stated.
Official figures reveal that in 2023, El Salvador welcomed over 3.4 million foreign visitors, marking its highest historical record and making it the fourth-highest growing country in the sector that year.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) highlighted in a recent study that El Salvador is expected to be the Latin American country with the highest growth in international tourist arrivals in the first half of 2024.
In their growth projections for Latin America, WTTC estimates a 12% increase in international tourist arrivals in the first six months of the current year compared to the same period in 2019.
El Salvador emerges as one of the region’s key destinations, with a projected 157% growth in international tourists compared to the first half of the previous year before the pandemic-induced setback. The numbers establish the Central American country as one of the top four destinations driving tourism growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, alongside Colombia, Curacao, and the Dominican Republic, as noted by Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UN Tourism, in a recent interview cited by local media.