CATA: The Tourism Promotion Hub for Central America and the Dominican Republic
Central America is a wonderful natural bridge connecting North and South America, formed by seven countries: Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama.
Through CATA (Central America Tourism Agency), the region - rich in natural beauty, history, culture, ancient traditions and biodiversity - is promoted as a great tourist destination ready to show all its charms to visitors.
The Dominican Republic has joined CATA as a complementary ally for the promotion of tourism in this region, adding the best of both worlds to attract international travelers.
Caribbean News Digital sat down with CATA's Secretary General, Mrs. Carolina Briones, about the achievements of the year that is coming to an end and the challenges for the year ahead.
The countries that make up the Central American region close 2022 with better results than expected. The European market is the second most important for Central America and the Dominican Republic. What does this data mean?
Indeed, Central America and the Dominican Republic continue to position themselves as one of the regions leading the recovery of tourism in the Americas. This is the result of different actions such as the progress in the rate of vaccination of the population, the relaxation of restrictive measures and the transformation of the regional tourism offer.
According to data from the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration (SITCA), in 2021, a total of 1.2 million tourists from Europe arrived in the region, representing 14.8% of the total number of travelers received during that year.
Of these, 691,590 travelers came from the markets prioritized by CATA. The ranking places them in the following order of importance: Spain with 227,159 tourists; Germany, with 164,007 tourists; France with 158,735 tourists; Italy with 57,385 tourists; the United Kingdom with 47,936 tourists; and the Netherlands with 36,368 tourists.
This means that the efforts made by the region during 2020 - 2021, as well as the individual efforts of each country, have restored the confidence of international travelers, who identify the isthmus as one of the best areas in the hemisphere for post-pandemic tourism.
In this regard, during 2022, CATA intensified its actions to promote and strengthen the business sector and the adaptability of the regional tourism offer with innovation and resilience. In addition to focusing promotional actions in European markets to provide quality tourism information, CATA will contribute to positioning the region as a multi-destination open to world tourism.
Culture and tradition are two of the main motivations for travel to countries in the region (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic). What promotional plans does CATA have for 2023?
CATA plans to continue its promotional efforts in Europe with an ambitious work agenda, which seeks to bring first-hand all the tourism attractions and opportunities for the development of the sector in Central America and the Dominican Republic. 2023 represents a range of opportunities, as we reach full normalcy for the operation of the industry.
In that sense, in January we will be participating in the International Tourism Trade Fair (FITUR), where Guatemala will be a partner country, giving the opportunity for the eyes of the world to see the rest of the Central American region full of impressive natural and cultural wealth. FITUR is the ideal place par excellence to showcase the latest developments in the sector, and CATA will be present to show the world the new opportunities for the development of tourism in Central America and the Dominican Republic.
"During 2022, CATA intensified its actions to promote and strengthen the business sector and the adaptability of the regional tourism offer with innovation and resilience"
Also, on the 16th and 17th of the same month, CATA will be developing a tourism promotion caravan in Madrid and Barcelona respectively. The main cities of Spain will host this completely face-to-face event where they will be able to learn directly about the renewed and adapted tourism offer that the region has to offer during 2023 to travelers.
We also plan to continue exploring opportunities in other international markets, such as North America, where we are growing our presence through the cooperation provided by the Republic of China (Taiwan). We also expect to continue deepening our efforts and establishing alliances to promote intraregional tourism, which is the second most important market for Central American countries.
CATA continues to innovate in its promotional actions, a good example of which is one of its latest campaigns aimed at attracting digital nomads? What results have been obtained?
That's right, with the slogan "Live, Travel and Connect", from CATA we have sought to promote Central America and the Dominican Republic as an ideal multi-destination for long-stay tourism, with the necessary installed capacity for digital connectivity and tourism infrastructure, providing the opportunity for travelers to be surrounded by cultural and natural environments and with the guarantee of always being connected to the world.
We know that this type of travelers are characterized by combining their work time with their tourism interests, motivating them to move their office to spaces full of magic. With the acceleration of the digitalization of the tourism industry, registered in recent years, this sector has gained more strength, positioning itself as a promising niche market for the industry.
In that sense, in close coordination with the countries of the region, on the Visit Central America website we have made available to travelers a list of the most emblematic destinations in each country with the ability to accommodate digital nomads. This gives them the possibility to explore other worlds in close proximity to the environment, with an ideal climate all year round, beaches, volcanoes, rivers and totally comfortable environments.
With the campaign still ongoing, excellent results have been generated, having reached through META more than 896,444 people and generating more than 15,473 interactions. In addition, it has aroused interest among various sectors, especially the press, as reflected in the extensive media coverage.
Central America and the Dominican Republic have such a wide range of offerings that they continue to be a regional multi-destination reference. What could you highlight about each of the countries?
Definitely, the region continues to be a reference for tourism. Recovery data to date reflect this. In Belize, we can highlight its tourist offer in the Caribbean, surrounded by the second largest barrier reef in the world. In Guatemala, its impressive archeological, cultural and natural wealth make it the undisputed Egypt of the Americas.
El Salvador has positioned itself worldwide as the country of waves, hosting important international surfing events. Honduras, with its islands in the Caribbean, offers a system of islands with a tourist offer for all types of travelers. Nicaragua, the land of lakes and volcanoes, with its adventure and community tourism, enchants all its visitors.
"With the slogan "Live, Travel and Connect", CATA has sought to promote Central America and the Dominican Republic as an ideal multi-destination for long-stay tourism"
Costa Rica, undoubtedly the country of sustainable tourism, continues to be the benchmark for nature tourism in the region. For its part, Panama, with an important commitment to the native peoples, offers truly fascinating experiences by giving the local communities the leading role so that they are the ones who offer travelers the opportunity to get to know their territory. Undoubtedly, the Dominican Republic is all about sun and beach, but Samaná, a little-explored destination on the island, offers a diversity of natural attractions in a single area.
Sustainability continues to be one of the countries' primary objectives. In this regard, what are the projects of the Central American tourism agency?
Through institutional alliances with the Secretariat for Central American Tourism Integration (SITCA), a sister entity of the Central American Integration System (SICA), we have supported campaigns to promote the Central American Integrated System for Tourism Quality and Sustainability (SICCS) or better known as SICCS Seal, which has been recognized by the UNWTO and the OAS as one of the 14 Best Practices of the Tourism Sector in the Americas. Also, from CATA we are committed to sustainability by creating spaces for training and updating the tourism business sector, providing them with tools to ensure their insertion in the digital ecosystem.
It is also important to mention that the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), SITCA and the Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit (SUSTENTUR), signed a Framework Collaboration Agreement to establish coordination mechanisms to jointly promote sustainable and social tourism in the SICA Region and Mexico, which we see as a very important opportunity to institutionalize and take sustainability actions for tourism in the region to another level.
Since the Dominican Republic became an ally of the region, what results and projects can you highlight?
Since January 2019, the Dominican Republic has officially become a full member of the Central American Tourism Promotion Agency to contribute its dynamism and tourism product to the efforts to integrate the SICA region's tourism sector and position it in European target markets.
Since 2016, the Dominican Republic was already participating in the regular meetings of the CATA Board of Directors (CD-CATA) as an observer, but it was not until 2018 that the Caribbean nation's accession as a full member was unanimously approved.
This event definitely set regional tourism integration on the road to a new era, with new energy and nuances to the regional offer and the Dominican Republic's tourism product to project and promote us in the international market as complementary destinations.
In fact, the pandemic further reinforced the spirit of integration and it was in this context that CATA initiated the execution of the campaign: "Central America + Dominican Republic: The healthiest trip in the world", the first joint promotion exercise among the 8 countries that make up the Agency.
The launch of the campaign with the slogan #JuntosSumamos (Let's Add Together) contemplated among some of its actions the creation of tourism products between operators of both territories to make them known to wholesalers in Europe and America, as well as taking advantage of the connectivity between the Dominican Republic and Panama as a bridge between the region.
Within this framework, CATA developed the First HACKATHON for the creation of multi-destination tourism products in Central America and the Dominican Republic, which was executed as part of the strategy to strengthen tourism exchange and integration between the Dominican Republic and Central America in order to position the region with a tourism offer adapted to the new demand.
40 tour operators from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic generated multi-destination products through the exchange of tourism offerings among the territories, thus generating a more complete portfolio to present to the European and American markets.
For this action CATA was selected as the winner in the category EXCELENCIAS TURÍSTICAS 2021 AWARDS. This project was the winner among applications from more than 20 countries such as Spain, the United States, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Mexico and the Central American region.
CATA also launched the new multi-destination product catalog with the tourism fusion of Central America and the Dominican Republic, a new tool for the promotion of a region that combines destinations from 8 countries in the heart of the Americas.
This was the first time that the tourism offer of Central America and the Dominican Republic was combined through 5 packages and the participation of 13 tourism companies from the region, offering tourists the opportunity to mix the magic, culture and nature of the Central American isthmus with the impressive landscapes of one of the most important destinations in the Caribbean.
Finally, it is important to mention that during the second half of 2022, the Dominican Republic held the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Central American Tourism Council (CCT) for the third time since its incorporation into the Central American Integration System (SICA) in June 2013. The island supported actions that stimulated and facilitated the sustainable development of tourism in the region, promoting the responsible recovery of tourism post COVID, promotion, tourism marketing and tourism intelligence system.
CATA promotes tourism as a pillar of regional integration. What are its objectives for 2023? What results does it predict for the countries?
CATA is a link of integration and tourism promotion, unique in its kind, for the positioning of Central America and the Dominican Republic, so that in 2023 we hope to continue fostering close ties with the National Tourism Authorities of the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic, as well as the Chambers of Tourism of the region for the promotion and exchange of best practices, knowledge, strengthening of the business fabric, innovation and adaptability of the tourism offer.
Also, in the immediate future we seek to promote the active participation of the different actors that make up the value chain of the tourism industry in Central America and the Dominican Republic through a branding campaign for the Central America brand, but we also hope to promote more orientative, formative and creative processes that will strengthen the industry's capacity for action.
We also plan to continue exploring opportunities in other international markets, such as North America, where the United States, Canada and Mexico are the springboards for accelerating the recovery of tourism. We also expect to continue deepening our efforts and establishing alliances to promote intraregional tourism, which is the second most important market for Central American countries.
Of course, we hope to continue consolidating work exercises that stand out for their uniqueness in the promotion of a competitive, complementary, innovative and diverse multi-destination, through the efficient management of the regional tourism offer in times of recovery.
