El Salvador’s commitment to strengthening the tourism sector
Through bilateral partnerships with Mexico and Guatemala, countries are moving towards a competitive tourism model aligned with sustainable development.
One of El Salvador’s strongest commitments is the promotion of tourism as a means for economic and social development, through which revenue is generated, employment is created, and social inclusion is fostered (Melo, J., on El Salvador Newspaper, 2024). This commitment has materialized ―among other instruments― through the SSC that this country exchanges with other Ibero-American partners. Two examples are presented below, one with Mexico (in which El Salvador acted as recipient) and a more recent one with Guatemala (in which it acted as provider).
On the one hand, in 2021 and within the framework of the 10th Meeting of the El Salvador-Mexico Joint Commission for Technical and Scientific Cooperation, the project “Strengthening institutional capacities in ecotourism, conservation of natural resources and economic participation of local communities” was approved. This initiative looks to contribute to the conservation of the country’s natural and cultural resources and to promote the active participation of communities and cooperative associations in caring for the natural, cultural and historical resources of the territories (Project Sheet, 2021).
This project remained in execution until March 2023 and was created from the growth of ecotourism in El Salvador and Mexico’s accumulated experience in the development of viable and sustainable long-term strategies for this type of tourism (Project Sheet, 2021).
Specifically, virtual exchanges were held on sanitary protocols for protected natural areas, ecotourism marketing (value chain approach), and communication strategies for companies, etc. Discussions were also held for the exchange of experiences among tourism service providers and on basic or alternative infrastructure for the sector.
On the other hand, one of the projects approved by the First Joint Commission with Guatemala was “Strengthening the capacities of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (INGUAT by its acronym in Spanish) through the exchange of the Salvadoran experience in the development of sport events for the positioning of tourism”. In this case, good practices were shared for the development of world-class sporting events and activities that El Salvador carries out with the Surfing Association in Guatemala.
In fact, this Association, together with INGUAT, wants to position the country as a destination for this sport, but they have encountered barriers because part of the population, companies and sponsors do not identify opportunities and potential investment and benefits for the communities (Project Sheet, 2023).
Thus, between July and November 2023, numerous and diverse activities were carried out, such as virtual training workshops by the Ministry of Tourism of El Salvador (MITUR by its acronym in Spanish) for INGUAT officials and the Guatemalan Surf Association. Also, technical visits were organized to follow up on the knowledge shared virtually, and a video was shared with testimonials from national and international surfers, with images of Guatemalan events and tourist destinations to raise awareness and broadcast the advantages of the country as a tourist destination (Project Sheet, 2023).
At the end of this cooperation, in addition to the participating institutions, the project benefited tourism companies in surf destinations (specifically 30 companies in Playa el Paredón in the department of Escuintla), 10 tour operators that offer surfing and 10 Guatemalan surfers who are members of the Guatemalan Surfing Association.
With these initiatives, El Salvador and its Ibero-American partners align their SSC with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 17 (Partnerships to Achieve the Goals).
October 2024
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Source: SEGIB based on the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation – AMEXCID (by its acronym in Spanish) (2021, Project sheet), El Salvador Agency for International Cooperation – ESCO (2023, Project sheet) and Melo, J., on El Salvador Newspaper (2024).
Photographs: ESCO and Guatemala.com
