Transcript central american tourism

CENTRAL AMERICAN
TOURISM
Presented By:
Joe, Tim, Dusty, Kyle, & Ryan
Introduction
• Focus on Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and
Belize
• Turmoil in the 1980’s led to increased interest in
the area by tourists in the 1990’s and beyond
• Costa Rica has the largest growth, which may be
due to the fact that they have no army and are seen
as a more peaceful country
IntroductIon (cont’d)
• Ecotourism has become
quite popular
• In addition, the beautiful
weather in the area still
lends itself to the more
traditional resort towns
Costa Rica
Background Statistics
Capital: San Jose
Official Name: Republic of Costa Rica
Area (km2)
Population (millions)
Population
Density (per km2)
GDP
GDP (per capita)
Costa Rica
51,000
3.8
82
$32 billion
US$8,260
United States
9,629,000
290
30
$10.45 trillion
US$36,300
Tourism Statistics
Tourism arrivals and receipts
Tourist Arrivals (thousands)
Tourist Receipts (US$ millions)
1998 1999 2000
1998 1999 2000
Costa Rica
943
1032 1106
884
1,002 1,102
Belize
177
181
N.D.
108
112
N.D
Guatemala
636
823
826
394
570
518
Panama
431
457
479
494
538
576
Tourism Statistics (cont’)
Tourism in the economy
(2000)
Receipt per capita
(US$)
Costa Rica
Belize
Guatemala
Panama
276
450
46
206
Receipt per arrival
(US$)
996
619
629
1203
Percentage of
GDP
7.1
14.2
2.7
5.7
Factors that have led to Costa Rica having
the most established and mature tourism
industry the region
• 1980s Privileged position relative to its neighbors.
• 1985 The Law on Tourism Incentives
• Late 1980s The world trend towards environmental
conservation and ecological issues gathered new
momentum.
Guatemala
Guatemala Fast Facts
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Capital – Guatemala City
Language – Spanish
Population – 11.1 million
Currency – Quetzal (1 Quetzal = .12USD)
Largest economy in Central America
Recently tourism and agriculture have
boomed.
Guatemala
• The Guatemalan Economy
has been booming over the
past several years.
Over 50% of Guatemala's
GDP comes from services
such as Tourism.
Guatemala
• Tourism has steadily increased in
Guatemala after internal conflicts were
resolved in 1985.
• Guatemalan Tourism Receipts (US$)
1985
1990
1992
13.3 Million
117.9 Million
186.0 Million
1995
1997
212.5 Million
266.1 Million
Guatemala
Tourist Attractions
• Modern and Colonial
Cities
• Mayan Ruins
• Natural Paradise
• Pacific Ocean
Guatemala
The Future of Guatemalan Tourism
• Ecotourism - The demand for the
visit of unmanaged natural
landscapes in their natural
environments.
• Sustainable Tourism Paradox –
The increase in visitors makes it
dificult to preserve the natural beauty
for future tourists.
Panama
Where the canal is
Some Facts About Panama
Full country name: Republic of Panama
Area: 30,420 sq mi
Population: 2.8 million
Capital city: Panama City (pop 700,000)
People: 65% mestizo, 14% African descent, 10% Spanish descent, 10% Indian
Languages: Spanish (Official), English and Indian languages
Religion: 85% Roman Catholic, 10% Protestant, 5% Islamic
Government: 85% Roman Catholic, 10% Protestant, 5% Islamic
Currency: Balboa = $1.57
Panama’s Economy
•The service industry is the
biggest source of revenue in
Panama’s economy.
•Tourism is one of Panama’s
primary services
Panama’s Tourism Receipts
Year
$ (in millions)
1993
225.6
1994
261.6
1995
310.4
1996
343.1
1997
374.2
Tourist Attractions
Panama Ruins
La Amistad
International Park
This is the one bridge that
crosses the Panama
Canal
Belize
“Central America’s Diamond in the Rough”
Overview
•Belize is located on the Caribbean Sea
between Mexico and Guatemala
•Slightly smaller than Massachusetts
•Population of 266,000 people
•English official language
•Government is parliamentary
democracy
•Natural Resources: fish, timber, hydropower, potential arable land – only
2.8% used
History
• Heavily populated by the
Mayans from 250-900A.D.
• First settlement 1638 by British for logging followed by fights of British and Spanish for
ownership
• British won supremacy in 1798 and est. as
colony in 1871
• Loosely governed by natives and achieved
independence Sept. 21, 1981 – constitution
introduced and accepted by UN and
Commonwealth of Nations
Dangers of FDI in Tourism
• Coastal flooding esp. in the south
• Frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to
November)
• Crime – due largely in-part to illicit drug trade
(major transshipment point for cocaine)
• International Disputes – land disagreements with
Guatemala – laid claim to Southern Belize
• Labor Shortages – 90,000 force but shortage of
skilled labor and all types of technical personnel
– 43% of population under age 18
• High Trade Deficit - $290mil. Export/$430mil.
Import
• High Nation Debt - $435mil. External
• Poverty – 33% of population below poverty line
Room for Improvement
• Stable exchange rates – remained relatively
constant since 1998
• Major ports source of income/trade/transportation
• Continued increase of arable land production
• Support from US/UK - $21mil last year
• Gov’t expansionary and monetary policies
initiated in Sept. 1998 cause led to 6.5%
increase in 1998, 10.8% in 2000, 4.6% in 2001,
and 3.7% in 2002 – mostly in tourism
• Short-term objective is reduction of poverty via
international donors
• GDP real growth rate – 3.7% per year
• Inflation rates – 1.9%
Tourism
• Recent times – GDP growth in 2001 was
4.6% compared to 10.8% increase in 2000
result of two nat. disasters, declining export
prices, and Sept. 11th – esp. in tourism
- Tourism is number one source of income for
country – represents 20.2% of GDP
- Gov’t is spending lots time and money in
attempts to reinitiate growth via growth plans
with help of US & UK
- Protecting natural resources = main tourist
attractions: Mayan ruins, beaches, parks, etc.
Ancient Ruins
• Mayan ruins located throughout Belize – main
attractions on coastline
• Government has spent large amounts of
money revitalizing areas and making them
more tourist accessible – trails & protection
Hotel Accommodations
• Much time and money spent increasing
and improving resorts and hotels – via
Colonial Development Corporation (CDC)
• Considered lower than average – number
of rooms has more than tripled from 1990
Overall
• With continued gov’t assistance in
tourism and related businesses and
increases of foreign money flow the
Belizean tourist industry is bound to
flourish and become one of the most
successful in Central America and the
world
Bibliography
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html
http--www.incae.ac.cr-ES-clacds-investigacion-pdf-cen607.pdf.url
2http--www.icdf.org.tw-web_pub-20030429165348C2-4.pdf.url
The Young Dr. Boggs
The End