international tourism boom in El Salvador

More than 2.3 million international visitors they did tourism in El Salvador between January and July 2024, which represents a 22% more than in 2023reported the Ministry of Tourism of the Central American country.

This result makes El Salvador the country with the highest tourist growth in the entire region, which can largely be considered the result of the controversial security plan applied by President Nayib Bukele, which involved the arrest almost 80,000 people through a “regime of exception”, accused of allegedly being part of gangs that spread terror and insecurity throughout the country.

Although this policy was rejected by human rights organizations for including a “regime of exception” that suppresses citizen rights, the truth is that Bukele’s crusade ended the domination of gangs and significantly reduced the country’s homicide ratefrom 106 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to 2.4 in 2023, a figure lower than the world average.

As a result, many people walked again at night throughout the cities, and parks and squares were once again filled with children playing, a scene that was unusual, especially after certain hours of the day.

And now another effect comes, which is the increase in tourism. Those 2.3 million visitors who have arrived so far this year represent 56% of the four million expected by 2024said the Ministry of Tourism.

International tourists injected at least 2,223 million dollars in foreign currency earnings, reported the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez, who considered that this is a “record” figure in the country.

Las beacheshe explained, continue to be the most visited by international tourists, while in second place is the historic center of San Salvador.

The tourism sector in 2023 represented el 11% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and remains a pillar for the Salvadoran economy, said Valdez.

Throughout last year, tourism contributed 3,664.7 million to the GDP, and at the end of 2023 the sector employed at least 67.333 personas.

In the last 11 years, the country received more than 17,460.4 million in foreign currency income from tourism.

As the Minister of Tourism highlighted, the beaches on the Pacific and surf They are the main magnet for tourists arriving in El Salvador. Surfers in particular especially visit the Liberty beach for its famous waves and for hosting international competitions.

Another great attraction are the hikes along volcano slopesespecially the Santa Anain the Cerro Verde National Park – the highest in the country, with 2,381 meters -, where there are trails of varying difficulty, and The Boqueronlocated in the National Park of the same name, very close to the capital, San Salvador.

Mayan ruins also delight visitors, especially in Jewel of Cerenknown as “the Pompeii of the Americas”, and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because it is the ruins of an ancient agricultural community.

The other major archaeological site is Saint Andrew -with its characteristic pyramids-, which shows the life of the original inhabitants of Central America in an area of ​​about 3 km2 in the Zapotitlán valley.

Another attraction are the craftssince numerous small cities in the country – such as Suchitoto o The Palm– are famous for their typical crafts.