SuchWhich and its allied media from the interior of the country interviewed tourism service providers, members of regional tourism chambers and related unions to assess how the sector is in Venezuela, what are the projections, what is the viable offer and what have the owners of inns and hotels to remain operational during the deepening of the economic crisis
“Tourism is the secret weapon to enhance the benefits of Venezuela”, assured the president Nicolás Maduro last August in Falcón. For several months, the official has been insisting on the idea of betting on this sector as an option to reactivate the country’s economy and “completely replace the rentier oil model.”
The potential of this terroir for tourism is indisputable, the contrast of its landscapes: jungle, forest, desert, beach and mountains a few kilometers away from each other is one of its great attractions. However, it has never been a priority, despite several attempts. Possibly now it is more uphill: efficient public services, means of transport, communication routes and financial credits are essential for the bet.
Also read: The tourist power that never was
Even so, there have recently been approaches between the National Executive and tour operators and their unions. Tourism, after the crisis of hyperinflation and the covid-19 pandemic, has shown rising figures and micro-entrepreneurs have reopened the doors of hotels and inns.
SuchWhich, beside Correo del Caroní, The Weather, The Morning, The Impulse, The Nation Y Yaracuy a day They interviewed tourism service providers, members of regional chambers of tourism and related unions to show how is the sector in Venezuela currently, what are the projections, what is the offer in the country and what have the owners of inns and hotels done to keep the santamarías up?
* Read: World Tourism Organization forecasts recovery of 78% by 2022
“Work with all sectors”
Working with all sectors is essential for the development of tourism, says Antonio Morales, president of the Chamber of Tourism and Culture of the state of Lara.
“There are many ways to develop tourism, but it cannot be the work of a single agency, but must be a joint effort,” Morales points out. At the same time, he clarifies that currently “there is a national strategy to strengthen tourism.”
2022: the sector resurfaces, but slowly
Leudo González, president of the Superior Council of Tourism of Venezuela (conseturismo), agrees that all sectors are necessary and applauds that conversations and work between public and private are finally taking place.
“After many years we have been called to coordinate and articulate efforts: between what the Government intends to do from the point of view of a strategic tourism plan and the participation of the private sector as the executor of that plan. We have seen how higher tourism bodies have been formed throughout the country, which are instances of articulation between public entities and the private sector, represented by the regional tourism chambers », he explains.
González affirms that although progress in this area has been incipient – tourism decreased between 2010 and 2020 due to various factors: internal political climate, hyperinflation and pandemic – “there has been a resurgence, a restart, a new positive expectation that things are on the right track. That the Executive is taking the tourism sector into account for the economic model that it wants to develop from now on is music to our ears.”
Venezuela: jungle, forest, desert, beach and mountains
Operational infrastructure, efficient public services, various means of transportation, safe communication routes, financing facilities, professionalization of the hotel industry and competitive salaries are some of the factors that positively influence the development of tourism. In today’s Venezuela these factors do not apply or apply only halfway. Even so, many service providers have sought to circumvent the current conditions, diversifying their offer to keep their doors open and contribute to the development of their communities and regions.
In Anzoátegui, “the tourist gateway to the east of the country”, where the Mochima National Park is located, and the next venue for the International Tourism Fair of Venezuela (Fitven); Posada owners, like Mrs. Hermelinda Rodríguez, have had to resort to their savings to be able to keep the premises afloat.
Also read: European cruise travels to Venezuela in January 2023 after 15 years, minister revealed
In Bolívar, mining replaced tourism
With the collapse of the oil and steel industry, the Government began to promote gold, diamond and coltan mining in 2016 as an economic lifeline that, with the creation of the Orinoco Mining Arc (AMO), spread illegal mining throughout the country. the Venezuelan Amazon causing deforestation, contamination of soils and rivers, death of unique species, invasion of indigenous territories by irregular armed groups and the destruction of protected natural areas such as the Canaima National Park and the Caura National Park, in the south of the country .
60% of the indigenous who worked as tour operators in the south of Venezuela also turned to mining due to the paralysis of the sector, which reached a minimum of activity during the covid-19 pandemic. Now is when it begins to reactivate.
“We intend to promote tourism activity, beginning with the promotion of the potential of our 11 municipalities,” he said. Gilbert Almarzapresident of the Chamber of Tourism of Bolívar state.
«This ranges from knowing its history, attractions, culture to gastronomy. We seek to motivate entrepreneurs to return to guided tours », he explained.
In the midst of the difficult context of the sector, Almarza considers that a progressive recovery is possible, but only if a space is opened so that, between the public and private sectors, they consolidate strategies aimed at protecting spaces and investing in new tourist activities. , taking advantage of the diverse natural spaces that the country has.
In Caroní, the most populous municipality in Bolívar, there are at least eight buildings and natural spaces abandoned by the State: the Ruins of the Caroní Missions, the San Félix Malecón, La Fundación Park, the Historic Center of Ciudad Bolívar, the Castles of Guayana, Caura National Park (in the hands of armed groups), Ecomuseum and petroglyphs of Caicara del Orinoco.
“The proposals are on the table, the only thing missing is the political will and the push of the sector to make them possible,” concluded the president of the Bolívar State Chamber of Tourism.
Adícora Fest and the revival in Falcón
The Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón municipality of the state of the same name, has natural, historical and architectural attractions. There, tourism, during the efforts of official mayors, was not relevant.
With the arrival of an opposition municipal manager —Harold Davila Gomez— and the action of the national and regional governments, a meeting point has been achieved to give a new impetus to the activity, which began with the transformation of the coastal community of Adícora. There, the three government instances made a significant investment that culminated in the development of the Adícora Fest beach festival, which attracted nearly 25,000 people from all over the country, according to official figures.
Innkeepers in the area point out that they see a light at the end of the tunnel: since before the pandemic they spent many years without receiving clients and maintaining their businesses with personal and family income.
Obdulys Rangel, owner of the Villa Mar inn, in Adícora, recounts that the accommodation was started “from scratch” and thanks to her own efforts she has managed to maintain herself, despite the adversities and the great economic and social crisis that Venezuela has experienced between 2017 and 2020.
Three families in the area depend directly on this enterprise.
The Falcón municipality, after having the largest inventory of inns in the entire Paraguaná Peninsula, currently has 26 active inns; establishments that have taken on a new air.
In Pueblo Nuevo and other communities, dozens of inns closed their doors due to the economic meltdown. They hope to be able to reopen to the public with the mixed investment offered by the national government.
In order not to close, in Táchira they reinvented themselves
Táchira, one of the entities in the Andean region hardest hit by the crisis in public services, has not stopped receiving visitors: some passing through, others for work and a few for tourism.
To cover the demand, service providers from Tachiren have had to reinvent themselves, as is the case of the Duque family, owners of El Sol Posada, in San Cristóbal.
* Read: Tourism in Táchira could create up to 12,000 jobs with border reopening
“Three years ago we were about to close,” confesses Fernando Duque, but they bet on a “reengineering” of the space —acquiring power plants, water tanks and the Internet from Colombia— and on social networks and international accommodation platforms, such as booking Y airbnbwhich have allowed the arrival of guests in recent months.
the sun inn It is located in the upper part of the city of San Cristóbal, and generates at least 10 direct jobs.
Yaracuy and gastronomic tourism
Yaracuy does not appear in the tourist destinations par excellence in the country, however, the great variety of gastronomic ventures that have emerged in the region during the last seven years has made the entity stand out among the leisure, recreation and entertainment options.
Despite little state support, but with “a lot of creativity”, the Yaracuy Gastronomic Tourist Route. Wilmer Rodríguez, president of this association, explains how they have come out ahead.
While, Adam Hassenpoints out that more public sector participation and greater promotion are necessary for Yaracuy to be located, like Táchira, Nueva Esparta and Bolívar, among the destinations to visit in the country.
Also read: How to turn the tourism project in La Tortuga into something sustainable?
What is missing in Venezuela?
Currently, our country is among the last visited destinations in the regionaccording to figures from four years ago.
“In 2018, 185,000 tourists entered the country. We are almost last in the region, only ahead of Haiti”, explains Leudo González, the president of Conseturismo. He also points out that today it is difficult to know where those visitors are coming from. He estimates that the majority of tourists are Venezuelans from the diaspora that they take advantage of to vacation when they come to see the family.
Among the proposals that Conseturismo has made to the National Executive, to give the sector a greater boost, is the elimination of visas to enter the country as a tourist, and to have financing facilities for the hotel and transport sector. aerial and land, which allows them to recover their facilities and fleets. Also update the curricula of studies in universities and institutes that train professionals in the sector.
“From an academic point of view, we are quite outdated and lagging behind in terms of what tourism has been developing in the world,” he says.
Venezuela has a wide range of accommodation and hotel infrastructure -despite the expropriations of ventur, many now given in concession to transnational hotel chains – and with a diversity of landscapes and natural parks, which could make it a tourist power; however, there are many steps to be taken, burdens to be straightened out and corrective measures to be taken so that the sector can be an option for contributing to the country’s gross domestic product.
Also read: Round-trip flights to Colombia could cost between $250 and $500
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