Honduran coup causes turmoil for tourism industry
Tuesday, 09 Dec, 2009
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TravelMole Guest Opinion by Michelle Grant – Euromonitor International research manager for travel and tourism
The volatile political situation and unexpected removal of president Manuel Zelaya by the Honduran military on June 28 has reversed the growing tourism trend experienced in the first quarter of 2009 when the government stated that arrivals increased by 6.5% over the same period in 2008.
The coup leaders alleged that Zelaya was going to amend the constitution to allow presidential re-election and disagreed with his land reform measures. Roberto Michelletti was elected by the congress as the official president until the election on November 29 brings Porfirio Lobo to the presidency in January 2010.
As a result, there have been frequent demonstrations throughout the country, including roadblocks among the cities. These demonstrations have turned violent in some cases.
The Honduras borders with El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua have been intermittently closed, coupled with military armed forces patrolling the streets.
According to industry sources, the border closures have cost at least $5 million a day.
Coup causes declines in tourism
At the end of June, the US Department of State issued a travel alert for Honduras, which recommended that potential American tourists “exercise caution when traveling to Honduras, while deferring all non-essential travel to the capital city of Tegucigalpa until further notice.” This travel alert is set to expire December 20, 2009.
According to the president of the Honduras Tourist Chamber, the coup caused the tourism industry to experience a decline in sales of 80% from June 28 through July 11.
Hotel occupancy rates averaged a dismal 20% during the time period as tourists avoided the country and Euromonitor International predicts that international arrivals will decline by 15% in 2009 when compared to 2008.
Industry turns to domestic tourism
As a strategic measure to deal with the drop in international tourism, the government and the private sector are working together to promote domestic tourism, which accounted for 51% of tourism spending in 2008. In late July, the secretary of tourism launched a massive marketing campaign with tourism packages that had discounts up to 50%.
The lower prices are luring Hondurans to places such as Roatan, which were too expensive and filled by American or European tourists. Another program is “Tegucigalpa is trendy” organized by the Honduras Tourism Institute to attract domestic tourists with sales in retail stores and tours of the city.
Despite these efforts, Euromonitor expects domestic tourism spending to fall by 9% in 2009 as residents conserve cash during the political crisis.
Positive signs of recovery
The reinstatement of charter flights from Italy and Canada to the northern coast in the upcoming winter season is a positive sign that international arrivals may recover although it is likely tourists will try to avoid the capital which has been at the center of the protests.
After the November election, it seems that the protests may stop and there is hope that calm will return to Honduras.
However, any flare up of violence or a return to closing borders will undermine the recovery of the tourism industry.
Phil Davies
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