Nicaragua’s Travel Industry on a Roll

In dealing with a number of markets, like the Russian, this Central American country has taken major steps, like visa exemption legislation and stepped-up tourism promotion, two things that come in handy when you look at the amount of Nicaraguans who speak Russian. At the latest edition of the Leisure Fair in Moscow, tourism minister Mario Salinas talked about some key developments designed to lure Russia and other major outbound markets. That includes the private sector’s advanced plans to launch an airline with a view to beef up connectivity with the destination, and talks now underway with «several Spanish, Italian and American hotel chains interested in doing business there.»

Is it the first time that Nicaragua attends the Leisure Fair? Yes. We’re attending for the first time. We’ve analyzed pretty well this attendance because starting a presence in a fair means a strong economic commitment, but also a commitment to continuity. We can’t get to a country, to a market just one year and then don’t show up again. That’d be all spilled milk. So, we have not only attended Leisure, but we’re also going to attend MITT in March and we’re going to try to step up our participation in terms of both the attendance of Nicaraguan companies and cultural expressions, as well as other topics that might turn out to be interesting for the Russian market. All this comes to pass within a framework of good relationships between the two nations. Our two governments have signed agreements in such fields as agriculture and transportation, and we’ve just cut a deal with the president of Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency for tourism exchange and promotion between the two countries, as well as the training and formation of personnel for the sectors. All this much means that we’re very encouraged by and confident in the development of the Russian market for Nicaragua’s travel industry. Is there any chance of having an Aeroflot flight or an Aeroflot connection via Havana, as we’ve heard before? In the course of Leisure we broached that issue with Aeroflot. In Nicaragua there are private groups working seriously on flights to Havana, Caracas and Mexico in the short run. We hope to pull that off by the end of the year and then talk about Aeroflot connections, an airline that flies daily to Havana. In addition, we could also make connections from those destinations by means of European carriers flying from Spain, UK, Germany, Italy and France, countries that have connections with Russia anyway. What about visa exemption agreements? That’s right. In 2009 the government switched the visa issuing process in embassies and consulates to border visas, and in the case of Russia all visa requirements were scrapped. Russians need no requirement whatsoever to enter the country other than the purchase of a tourist card. That undoubtedly eases travel. In the month of October we’ll be implementing the national tourist security plan in an effort to cling to the notion that Nicaragua is one of the safest countries in the region, with a tourist police and all the necessary means, including a round-the-clock hot line for assistance request. The work with this market also requires personnel that speak Russian language in all incoming agencies and hotels Does Nicaragua have that? That’s one of the edges we have. In addition to a hospitable and jaunty character, many people in our population speak Russian because many Nicaraguans, chiefly back in the 1980s, studied in Russia. Many of them married with Russian citizens and settled down in Nicaragua and had children who now speak the two languages. We’re working in the formation and training of many of these people as tourist guides because we know Russian tourists, like travelers from many other countries, like to be treated in their own language. What about hotels and the number of guestrooms? We count on top-quality, big hotels, like the InterContinental, the Crown Plaza, the Hilton… I mean outside Managua where you don’t have those huge lodgings but rather small charming inns with good service and great quality, though not up to par with the big five-star hotels and resorts you can see in other nations. Well, we have the Barceló resort, for instance, a chain that also runs a hotel in Managua. We have several projects underway, including some projects for golf courses. There’s a project called Guacalito, a six-star beach resort on the Pacific coast, and there are other projects in the works too. Nicaragua’s travel industry in on the rise right now, with tourist arrivals in the neighborhood of 9 percent increases on a yearly basis, an ever-growing demand that begins to put pressure on the offer. We’re holding talks with a number of hotel chains from Spain, Italy and the U.S. that are interested in doing business in the country, so we want to couple that growth with the kind of top-quality offer we actually need. What hotel chains are those? I can’t go into the specifics, but I can tell you that we’re in talks with a couple of major Spanish groups, and the same happens with Italy. We’ve also made significant progress with Spanish companies on the airlift issue, as well as from Italy and other European nations. Does that mean that Air Europa is going to cut a deal with you? That could be. Perhaps Nicaragua’s number-one allure right now lies in those charming inns with superb services and the beautiful locations it has to offer. That’s quite different to what other destinations deliver. Is that so? Absolutely, that’s so unique in Nicaragua. But we’re fully aware that many tourists call for certain facilities or hotel chains that guarantee top-of-the-line service and quality. However, we have hotels on the Pacific coast that boast incredible beauty in every way, absolutely eye-popping scenery that have even won international prizes and awards, that have been featured in world-class magazines, inns with no air conditioning telephone service, for instance. That’s designed for a very special kind of tourist. But we certainly need to embrace a far broader array of tourist offers and start gunning for midscale and upscale tourism. Are you interested in Ukraine? Yes, we’re conducting promotional efforts in Kiev and other cities, as well as in other regions and countries. For example, after our stay in Moscow we headed for China just to address the tourism issue with authorities there. We’re trying a number of markets ad regions around the globe. In South America, for instance, we’re looking to Argentina and Brazil because they have excellent conditions through Caracas, a city that the new Nicaraguan airline will surely fly to in the near future. We’re convinced that tourism is a way, a concrete possibility for development and income revenue, as well as a way to create new jobs and improve living conditions for the Nicaraguan people, so we’re working hard to make that happen. Is there anything else you’d like to add? We invite the readers of Excelencias magazine and the Caribbean News Digital newspaper to visit Nicaragua. We’re sure they are going to become legit promoters of Nicaragua around the world. Once they’ve known the country and once they’ve enjoyed our beauties and the hospitality of our people, they’ll surely be our natural advertisers.