Rivas continues to be one of the departments in the country with the greatest influx of national visitors, especially on vacation days, as occurred during Holy Week, however, hotel and restaurant owners assure that the movement of tourists did not translate into profits, that on the contrary, economic activity fell well below expectations.
According to tourism businessmen, the days with the greatest influx of visitors were Good Friday and Glory Saturday. The owners of a tourist business that adjoins near Marsella beach, in San Juan del Sur, and that offers restaurant and lodging services, indicated that in previous years they lacked products to meet the demand of tourists, but this year it was the opposite. , much of the inventory for Easter remained.
“Between the hotel and the restaurant, we achieved profits that did not exceed 50 percent of previous Holy Weeks,” complained a tourist businesswoman from Playa Marsella, in San Juan del Sur.
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«In 2022 we had better profits, people even expected the vacancy of rooms. Here we have eight rooms and of the eight, we managed to occupy only three throughout Holy Week. Before, people rented until dawn on Easter Sunday, but this year, they were short stays. That reduces profits, “he said.
Bathers “accommodated” expenses
Apparently, the national tourists who visited the different beaches of the department of Rivas did not demand meals from restaurants and hotels, rather they chose to bring their own meals to save their pockets.
“We all know that hotel rental prices per night are around $100. We arrived in Rivas by bus to save other expenses and in terms of food, prices are high, that’s why we cook at home and sleep on the coast,” said a resident of Managua who visited this area with his family of eight members.
«Last year we felt better sales. This year the bars, hotels and restaurants were desolate, the two days that we saw that people visited us were Friday and Saturday, at least I feel that I will recover what I invested”, shared María Concepción Herrera, owner of a bar and restaurant from the coastal area of Marsella beach
“Bad weather” also in San Juan del Sur
In San Juan del Sur there was also a very good influx of tourists, but it did not mean a great economic movement in the area either, the business owners said. “Profits were slim,” said a bar owner. Small businessmen also complain about the charges that the Mayor’s Office made them to offer their tourist services.
They criticized the little promotion of activities that the authorities did to encourage summer economic activity on these beaches, such as open-air parties, contests and competitions on the coasts.
Another problem they faced was paying for the high costs of raw materials for restaurant food. They announced that, in some cases, they assumed increases in products such as shellfish.
“We registered sales similar to those of last year, but without exceeding them, the raw material rose wildly, that is, one hundred percent more value was purchased than last year. Fish, for example, we quoted at 80, now a pound of fish fillet cost 180, we found a pound of octopus at 80, this year, it also rose to 180 córdobas,” lamented the owner of a restaurant in San Juan from the south.
That forced restaurateurs to raise the cost of their menus. They assured that, since December, they have been buying inputs with high prices that many times they must assume or sales “collapse.”
For her part, Clementina Ulloa, owner of the “Clementina” dining room, located in the market of the municipality of San Juan del Sur, indicated that “the national tourist visited San Juan del Sur from Holy Monday, from that date until Easter Sunday , and if we had a good demand, it is because of the price of the food. In our dining room, we offer meals from 100 córdobas to 400, which would be the Sopa Marinera”.
“If something was expensive, it is because we bought shellfish expensive,” Ulloa justified himself.
Good offer, but…
Among the aquatic amusements that were present in San Juan del Sur, the panga tour that runs through the bay, the banana boat and the water inflatable stood out, despite the fact that prices were accessible to vacationers, panga owners, who offer year after year this type of activities that generates adrenaline to the visitor, ensured that the demand for their services was not good.
“Compared to the number of people who visited San Juan del Sur, there was not much demand for aquatic entertainment services, we offer the tour in the bay at a cost of 70 córdobas per person, on the tour we show them the Face of the Indio and the famous Cueva de los Novios, also the water inflatables and bananas at a cost of 150 córdobas per person,” said a businessman named Granados.
Throughout the year, the owners of pangas in the municipality of San Juan del Sur offer different tours, such as whale, dolphin and turtle watching.
«The price of the tours, are dependent; some are $60 per hour, with a maximum of five people. We demand only five people because they are also fishing tours and we go offshore. If it is for eight people, the price varies up to $120 for the entire group,” he explained.
For this Holy Week that ended, the majority of visitors were national tourists, although they also came from El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica.
By United Voices
