Tourism is the industry (without chimneys) that has proved the most resilient even in the face of adversity. World tourism has grown since 1950 at a sustained, compound rate of 6.5% annually excepting three specific major crises, Sept. 11, the SAR’s epidemic and the current worldwide recession where the expected growth for 2009 ranges between -2% and 0. (All this data is based on analyses done by the experts of the World Tourism Organization (WTO Report, June 2009).

There are but a few regions in the world that have proven totally immune even to those adversities and one of them is Central America. From 1985, when 1.8 million tourist visited Central America, it has grown at an annual compounded rate of 8.2% hosting in 2008 a total of 8.4 million tourists.

As for Nicaragua, tourism has grown 18% annually since 1990 and 7.1% p.a. compounded if we analyze the data from 1999 to 2008. As of the month of May of 2009, statistics point to a growth in tourist arrivals of 10.8% compared to the same period of 2008. Hard currency revenues derived from this sector has increased during the past 5 years at a pace of 16.6% reaching U$278 million in 2008, the largest contribution to the economy of any sector, including traditional agricultural exports coffee, meat, non-traditional products and even minerals like gold.

The existing consensus explaining the resilient growth pattern in the Central American region relates to several factors including:

• Close proximity to the US that allows less travel time and cheaper airfare.
• Perceived reduced risk in travel and even more so now that Mexico, a traditional tourist destination.
• A stay that offers extraordinary beauty at cheaper costs, so tourist get more “bang” for their “buck”.