THE CENTRAL AMERICA TOURISM AGENCY NEWSLETTER

AIRLINE NEWS: 

AIR CONNECTIVITY INCREASES BETWEEN CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES 

Tourism within Central America has been boosted by the announcement of increased air connectivity among key tourist spots in each of the Central American countries.  

On 1st October 2015, Air Panama launched a new route from the Costa Rican capital of San Jose to Bocas del Toro, on Panama's Caribbean coast, via the western Panamanian city, David in the Chiriqui province. The new flight is part of the campaign 'Panama has it all' with the objective of attracting travellers in Costa Rica to visit Panama and its province of Bocas del Toro, home to the beautiful archipelago of the same name. The flight will operate three times a week between the airports of Juan Santamaria in Costa Rica, el Enrique Malek in David, Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro.   

Air Panama started operations in Costa Rica in July 2015 with a daily flight from Albrook Airport (Panama City) to San Jose, Costa Rica. Promotional packages start from $299 and includes two nights' accommodation, flight tickets, taxes, breakfast and transfers.  www.airpanama.com  

Meanwhile, Costa Rican carrier Nature Air plans to launch new flights to Ometepe Island and Costa Smeralda in Nicaragua after purchasing four new aircraft that are set to take to the air in December 2015. The airline currently offers daily flights to 15 destinations in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. www.natureair.com   

BRITISH AIRWAYS LAUNCHES DIRECT ROUTE TO COSTA RICA 

Starting on May 4 2016, British Airways will offer non-stop flights between Gatwick and the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. Customers will initially be able to fly twice a week during the summer, rising to three times a week in winter, to San Jose's Santamaría International Airport direct from Gatwick.  

During summer months the flights will operate on Wednesday and Saturday, departing from Gatwick at 11:55 and 11:00 respectively, arriving in San Jose at 15:45 and 14.50 with an average flying time of 10 hours and 50 minutes. In winter, flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing at 10:15 on a Tuesday and Saturday, arriving in to Costa Rica at 15:35, and departing at 11:25 on Thursday, arriving in to Costa Rica at 16:45. Flight times during the winter months will be 11 hours and 20 minutes. 

Return fares start from £687 in World Traveller, £1,100 in World Traveller Plus and £2,532 in Club World, including all taxes and charges. www.ba.com

HOTEL NEWS: 

STARWOOD HOTELS TO OPEN ITS FIRST CENTRAL AMERICAN HOTELS IN PANAMA & COSTA RICA 

Following the news that W Hotels Worldwide will debut its first hotel in Central America with the opening of W Panama in 2017, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. has now announced an agreement with Desarrollos Hoteleros Guanacaste S.A. (DHG) to bring its iconic W brand to Costa Rica.                                                

W Costa Rica – Reserva Conchal will be the brand's first tropical escape in Central America and is scheduled to open in 2019 just 45 minutes from the International Daniel Obtuber Quirós Airport, in Liberia, Costa Rica.  

Set against a backdrop of spectacular shorelines, vast volcanoes and magnificent mountain ranges, the beachside oasis will have 151 rooms and suites providing a perfect combination of relaxation and indulgence. The new hotel will include a signature restaurant, cocktail lounge, Away spa and WET deck, featuring an infinity pool with breath-taking views of the tropical surroundings. The hotel will also boast meeting spaces for special events. www.starwoodhotels.com 

NEW BOUTIQUE HOTEL OPENS IN SAN SALVADOR 

El Salvador's newest luxury boutique hotel, Sal y Luz, has opened its doors in the heart of its cosmopolitan capital San Salvador. The new hotel, which opened in July 2015, features just seven luxury rooms - themed Crystal, Life, Water, Energy, Harmony, Joy and Peace – as well as a spa and restaurant AMAR run by Chef Gustavo Ramos offering a wide variety of South American dishes.  

The hotel is the new project of entrepreneur, William Ramos, who has extensive experience in hospitality and tourism and saw great potential in creating a unique and modern concept in El Salvador, with an estimated investment of US $500,000. 

Rooms are priced from US $130 room only. salyluzhotels.com  

GUACALITO DE LA ISLA, LUXURY RESORT IN NICARAGUA TO HAVE ITS OWN AIRPORT 

A new airport is scheduled to open at the end of 2015 close to the luxury eco-resort of Guacalito de la Isla on Nicaragua's Emerald Coast.   

Costa Smeralda Airport will cater for both private jets and commercial flights operated by La Costeña Airlines twice daily on Saturdays and Sundays from Managua, Nicaragua, and by Sansa Airlines twice daily on Monday, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Liberia, Costa Rica.  Funded by the owners of Guacalito de la Isla, the airport will be located five miles south of the resort in Rivas, Nicaragua – an approximate 10-minute drive from the resort.  www.guacalitodelaisla.com 

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SAN JOSE FORUM ANNOUNCED 

The El Salvadorian conglomerate and hotel operator, Agrisal Group, is continuing to show its support to Costa Rica with the opening of Holiday Inn Express San Jose Forum in September 2015. The hotel, which previously operated as an Indigo hotel, was purchased by Agrisal Group and rebranded as a Holiday Inn Express hotel following a $10 million investment in the acquisition and remodelling of the hotel.  

Targeted at business travellers, the 100 room hotel is located just 25 minutes from San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport and is within close distance to the cities of Escazu, San Jose and a variety of tourist attractions.  

At the end of last year, the multinational company opened two other Holiday Inn hotels in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Agrisal Group currently owns 1,089 hotel rooms in the whole of Central America of which 260 can be found on Costa Rican soil. www.ihg.com   

TOURISM NEWS: 

A MULTI-COUNTRY CENTRAL AMERICAN VISA COULD BOOST MULTI-DESTINATION TOURISM  

The Central American Parliament (Parlacen) has proposed plans to implement a multi-country visa policy between Central America countries, similar to the Schengen Area in Europe, to boost multi-destination international tourism in the area.  

The launch of a regional visa would boost economic relations and open new markets in the member states of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Central American governments are being encouraged to build strategies with regional and international airlines in a bid to open up new connection networks. This would not only improve the price of airline tickets but also the possibility of creating new direct routes from America, Europe, Asia and other continents to Central America. www.visitcentroamerica.com 

HONDURAS TOURISM SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY TO PRESERVE THE WHITE CITY 

Juan Orlando Hernandez, the President of Honduras, and Terry D. Garcia, the Vice President of the National Geographic Society, have signed an agreement to work together on the exploration and investigation of the White City, or Ciudad Blanca.  Ruins of the legendary White City, also known as 'City of the Monkey God' - a lost city that has been the subject of fables for hundreds of years - were first discovered in May 2012 amid the most undisturbed rainforest in Central America, while an archaeological expedition in February 2015 uncovered artefacts belonging to a culture that thrived thousands of years ago before disappearing.  

By working hand in hand with the National Geographic Society, the Honduran Government hopes to preserve this natural world heritage, which lies deep in the Honduran jungle in La Mosquitia, a remote region in the east of the country. The partnership between National Geographic and UNESCO will help to transform Ciudad Blanca into an archaeological site rich in culture that will attract people from all over the world to come and admire its beauty. A number of institutions and universities will also be helping the investigation, the study of the archaeological pieces and their preservation.  www.honduras.travel  

TOUR OPERATOR NEWS: 

STEPPES TRAVEL  

Steppes Travel is bringing Europe closer to Central America in 2016 with some brand new tours across a range of Central American countries. On 27th February 2016 a new group tour focused on the mysterious world of the Maya will depart for the first time travelling through Guatemala and Honduras for 14 days. The Maya World tour focuses on discovering the legacy of the Maya in Guatemala and Honduras by travelling through the historic colonial city of Antigua through to Lake Atitlan and on to Copan where the group is joined by Maya expert David Sedat. The tour is priced from £3,595 including international flights. www.steppestravel.co.uk/guatemala-and-honduras-the-maya-world/overview.  

Steppes Travel have also altered and changed its tours to Costa Rica in 2016 to include slightly different regions and activities. The Surfer Paradise Tour is a 15 day self-drive holiday that takes travellers across some of the best places in Costa Rica as well as two of the top surfing destinations in the world.  

Prices of the tour start from £3,695 including international flights.  

www.steppestravel.co.uk/costa-rica-a-surfers-paradise/overview 

COX AND KINGS  

Cox and Kings has released a brand new 2016 Splendours of Central America tour, a 19 day and 17 night tour through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala with an option to extend to Belize. The tour takes travellers across Central America highlights including; volcanoes, tropical landscapes, lakes and mysterious Maya cities. The group tour is priced from £2,995 including international flights. www.coxandkings.co.uk/latin-america/tours/grand-tour-of-central-america-group.   

WORLD EXPEDITIONS

World Expeditions has launched an 11 day tour of Guatemala that takes in the country's most spectacular highlights. Travellers will be taken through the exciting streets of Chichicastenango to one of the world's most beautiful lakes, Lake Atitlan.  Visitors will also be able to take in the sights of Antigua, a UNESCO world heritage site and travel through to the mysterious ruins of Tikal, the heart of the Mayan empire. The tour is priced from £1,150 per person including international flights. 

www.worldexpeditions.com/uk/index.php?section=trips&id=3789323 

EXPLORE  

In 2016 Explore will launch a new 15 day Volcanoes and Tropical Forests trip which takes its guests through Costa Rica and Nicaragua visiting volcanoes, remote waterfalls and rainforests. This tour is a moderate graded walking tour to discover the Isla Ometepe in the middle of Lake Nicaragua and explore the cities of Leon and Granada. Time will also be allocated so travellers can hike in the tropical rainforests around Arenal Volcano and Braulio Carrilo National Park. The trip has departures in November and December 2016 and costs from £2,087 per person including international flights. www.explore.co.uk 

 For more information:  www.visitcentroamerica.com

   -Ends-

CATA – the promotional agency for the seven Central America countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua) – is represented by Lotus.  Please contact Georgina Oakley or Lucy Keenan at Lotus– georgina@wearelotus.co.uk /lucy@wearelotus.co.uk  / 0207 953 7470

THE CENTRAL AMERICA TOURISM AGENCY newsletter