More than one million Salvadorans traveled across Central America in 2023, making them the third-largest group of visitors to the region, according to data from the Secretariat of Central American Tourism Integration (Sitca).
A total of 27 million tourists explored Central America last year, with 72.5% classified as overnight visitors and 27.5% as day trippers. Of the 19 million overnight tourists, the majority came from the United States, followed by Canada.
The Sitca report reveals that 5.5 million U.S. tourists visited the region in 2023, along with 4.7 million Canadians. Salvadorans represented 5.1% of all visitors, ranking as the third-largest source of tourism to Central America globally. Combined, tourists from the U.S., Canada, and El Salvador accounted for over half of the total visits.
The surge in Salvadoran tourism is attributed to easy border access within the region, as citizens can travel to Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras using only a national ID card or passport.
Besides Salvadorans, significant numbers of tourists came from Guatemala, Colombia, Honduras, Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica, each contributing between 340,000 and 827,000 visitors.
Within the Central American Integration System (SICA) region—which includes Central America and the Dominican Republic—3.3 million tourists were recorded. El Salvador attracted 31.9% of these visitors, followed by Guatemala with 30.9%, and Nicaragua with 10.4%.
Salvadoran tourists played a key role in neighboring countries. In Guatemala and Honduras, they ranked among the top three sources of visitors, alongside U.S. and Guatemalan tourists. Meanwhile, Costa Rica hosted over 31,800 Salvadoran travelers, though its largest groups came from the U.S., Canada, and Nicaragua.
Tourism in Central America grew by 26.8% from 2022 to 2023. The Dominican Republic accounted for 38.1% of total visitors, while El Salvador welcomed 12% of tourists, ranking as the second most visited country in the SICA region.
Guatemala saw the most significant growth, with a 43.6% increase in visitors, followed by Belize at 41.2% and El Salvador at 32.8%.
This upward trend underscores the growing importance of Central America as a key travel destination, with Salvadorans playing a pivotal role in driving regional tourism.