El Salvador Tourism Yields 20 Million Dollars In Revenues

SAN SALVADOR, March 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The President of El Salvador, Elias Antonio Saca, and the Minister of Tourism, Ruben Rochi, expressed satisfaction with the large number of Salvadorean tourists who chose to stay in the country to enjoy the Easter holidays, celebrated March 15-24.

The head of tourism reported that 59,340 tourists visited El Salvador during the holidays, arriving by sea and land, which represented a 17.5% increase over last year. The rise generated 20 million dollars in revenues, in comparison with 18 million last year.

"There has been a 24.2% drop in departures, which means that Salvadoreans are preferring to stay at home, something we have witnessed on our beaches and in our mountains throughout the Easter season, when there has been a larger flow of tourists", the official reported.

According to Minister Rochi, a total 70,780 Salvadoreans left the country during the Easter season, a 24.2% drop over last year, when 93,364 chose to travel abroad (32.4% rise with respect to the previous year).

In turn, the Salvadorean Tourism Institute (ISTU) reported that all parks, with the exception of Los Chorros, recorded a 31.7% increase. None underwent a reduction compared to last year. "If we were to add the 59,270 tourists who visited Los Chorros, this would give us a 57.7% increase in the total number of visitors to ISTU's 14 parks. The important thing to point out here is that despite the fact that Los Chorros generated an unexpectedly high number of tourists, it was not to the detriment of any of the other 13 ISTU parks," explained Rochi.

    Contact:
    Ana Beatriz Flores
    anabeatriz.flores@hillandknowlton.com

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