El Salvador leads Latin America and the Caribbean in domestic tourism spending increase

"It seems that people are happier in El Salvador," reads a tweet from President Nayib Bukele, linking to the Forbes magazine story. "I'm not going to say 'I told you so,'" adds the millennial president who, with the conclusions of a Mastercard study, boasts of progress in the Salvadoran tourism sector, a year after starting his great war against gangs.

According to Mastercard's consumer analysis, private expenditures in the tourism sector increased significantly in El Salvador. The country even leads this ranking in Latin America and the Caribbean, with tough competitors such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Costa Rica.

According to Mastercard, spending on travel experiences increased by 213% in a comparison between March 2023 and the same month in 2019. Expenditure on direct consumer products also increased by 129% in the same period.

The other Latin American and Caribbean countries in the financial institution's analysis saw more subtle increases: Costa Rica (+144%), Guatemala (+117%), Jamaica (+105%) and Mexico (+116%).

According to Mastercard, the increase is due to a search for new experiences by travelers, while maintaining a preference for coastal countries. According to the researchers, this interest in unique experiences is potentially influenced by social media and entertainment in pursuit of cultural immersion.

Although El Salvador's data improved notably, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Panama, Colombia and Spain were the preferred destinations for Latin American travelers in the first months of 2023. The Bukele administration has a clear intention to strengthen this economic sector. To encourage it,.

Increases in Salvadoran tourism figures coincide precisely with the establishment of a public safety order in the country. Crime rates, and especially homicides, have plummeted since Bukele's government implemented tough anti-crime measures. With the help of a state of emergency, the Salvadoran president achieved the lowest homicide rate in the region. Despite this, several international organizations insist that Bukele's government policies are a clear violation of human rights and denounce arbitrary systematic detentions and legal proceedings without guarantees for the accused.