Here is the latest news from Central America (including Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama):

BELIZE WINS BEST RESORT AWARD FROM CONDE NAST TRAVELLER
 

Kanantik Reef & Jungle Resort in Dandriga (Belize) was voted Best Resort in Central and South America by readers of Conde Nast Traveller.  This exclusive resort has just 25 thatched-roofed cabanas set in lush tropical gardens on a Caribbean beach.  Kanantic means “to care for”, in the ancient Maya language, and this has become the philosophy of the hotel, an ideal place to relax and experience the true Belize. For more information: www.kanantik.com.

HOTEL TABACON IN COSTA RICA TOPS SPA AWARDS

The Grand Spa at the renowned Tabacón Grand Spa Thermal Resort in La Fortuna de San Carlos, Costa Rica, won the “Best Luxury Mineral Spring Spa” accolade for the second consecutive year at the Spa Awards 2013.  The Grand Spa was also named Best Spa in a Luxury Resort in the Americas.
 

Also located in La Fortuna, the Thermal Spa at El Tucano Hotel won the “Best Mineral Spring Spa within the Americas”, and at a national level, “The Spa” at the Four Seasons in the Papagayo Peninsula was named “Best Luxury Spa of Costa Rica”.  

TWO DESTINATIONS IN EL SALVADOR BID TO BECOME THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD

The Ilamatec Volcano and Lake Coatepeque in El Salvador are two of the candidates competing to become the 8th Wonder of the World in the 2013 edition of the competition.  This is the second time Lake Coatepeque has been nominated for this.  Other candidates include Tikal Archaeological Park in Guatemala, Tulum in Mexico and La Alhambra in Granada.  Online voting stared on 3rd June and will be open until 30th September on www.virtualtourist.com/8thwonder#cn_295.

GUATEMALA REAPS THE REWARDS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

The Director of the Guatemala Tourist Board (INGUAT), Pedro Pablo Duchez, reported positive results in the first year of the implementation of the country’s Sustainable Tourism Development Plan. He pointed at an increase in the number of visitors to the country, tourism revenue and job creation as a result of the investment in improving the quality of tourist destinations and products, developing a better tourism infrastructure and attractive services. 

HONDURAS TOPS CRUISE MARKET IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Honduras was the preferred cruise destination in Central America, receiving a total of 787,000 cruise passengers on board 315 ships, a 33% of the total number of cruise passengers in the region, according to data released by SITCA, the Secretariat of Central America Tourism Integration.  The new port in Roatan and Mahogany Bay contributed to this success.   

SAN RAFAEL DEL SUR BECOMES NEWEST TOURIST DESTINATION IN NICARAGUA

The Nicaragua Tourist Board is promoting the town of San Rafael del Sur in Masachapa as an alternative tourist destination for those looking to discover new places in Nicaragua.  Located on the Central Pacific Coast, the town offers a combination of beautiful beaches and two natural lagoons in a Natural Reserve near the community of Velasquez, as well as a good hotel infrastructure.  San Juan is also close to the Masaya Volcano and the colonial city of Granada. 

PANAMA LAUNCHES THE “PAINTED HAT ROUTE”

Rural artisans in northern Penonomé and La Pintada have joined forces to increase their income through tourism by creating the “Sombrero Pintao (Painted Hat) Route”.
 

This initiative aims to exhibit the rural areas of the province, with its typical crafts and crops grown under this region's characteristic great climate in a landscape crisscrossed with rivers, to attract domestic and foreign tourists.
 

The villages of Vaquilla, Pajonal, Membrillo — the only place in Panama that makes crafts out of soapstone — El Águila, and Machuca are found along the Sombrero Pintao route, which opens a new path towards tourism.  A main road links these communities, allowing tourists to walk or ride from town to town, stopping to observe, purchase, and enjoy what is offered by these village people who were once marginalized from tourism development.
 

The name of the route pays homage to the locally woven headwear known as "Sombrero Pintao".

For information on Central America go to www.visitcentroamerica.com.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact Cristina Cunchillos at Latina Marketing on 020 7704 8485 or email cristina@latinamarketing.com.