Tourism: a lifeline for Nicaragua’s economy

Nicaragua’s leisure industry has been churning out $110 million since 2000 and has doubtlessly turned out to be the lifesaver of a national economy that has undergone a dramatic fall in the price of its crops, said MP Tomas Borge, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Tourism Affairs.

The congressman opened Monday an event hat seeks to foster tourism, a sector that employs 136,000 people and accounts for around $80 million worth of ticket sales for airlines.

The convention was moved ahead of schedule because Nicaraguan president Enrique Bolaños was supposed to travel to London. However, last-minute rearrangements in British prime minister Tony Blair’s agenda put the trip on hold, an official source informed.

The meeting was attended by reps from Central American and Caribbean nations like Aruba, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, three countries that have made significant headway in their respective tourist industries.

In keeping with the event’s timetable, former president of the Latin American Parliament, Mexico’s Beatriz Paredes, and former Guatemalan president Vinicio Cerezo were scheduled to address attendants.

Chairman of the nation’s Tourism Chamber, Miguel Romero, said the travel industry has yielded $110 million worth of revenues in the past three years and there are projects in the pipeline aiming at earnings for $150 million. Half those projects have already been executed.

Mr. Romero rebuffed “attacks against tourism without seeing the good side of it,” in reference to a excise overhaul proposal that would make tourism a tax-exempt sector with the sole exception of investments in this industry.

The administration will pass the tax reform initiative on to Congress this week for debates and passage next June. The whole proposal has to do with a government’s commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Tourism Incentive Act won passage in 1998, yet it will be bound to undergo a partial amendment in order to cut down on tax exemptions.

Mr. Borge ruled out the executive branch has the necessary votes in Congress to pass amendments to a piece of legislation that was once okayed with total approval of all MPs.