El Salvador shines in Canadian roadshow

The El Salvador Tourism Board was joined by a selection of travel partners from the 'Land of Jewels' last night, in its first Canadian stop on the board’s new travel roadshow.

Agents met with an assortment of suppliers at the intimate Toronto event, including Avianca Airlines, AST (Adventure Sport Tours), Decameron All Inclusive Hotels & Resorts, Epic Tours and Green Blue Red Travel. The Toronto show was preceded by stops in major U.S. cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York, and will wrap up today with the show’s final date in Montreal.

Roberto Ayala, tourist information technician with the El Salvador Tourism Board, told PAX that the show is part of a new promotional push to get more travellers from the North American market, particularly Canada; while El Salvador welcomed 1.8 million international travellers in 2014 (the majority hailing from neighbouring Guatemala, followed by the U.S., Honduras and Europe, Ayala said), only 4,000 Canadians ventured to the country that year.

“We realized we need to do more to bring more Canadians to El Salvador,” Ayala told PAX. “The number of Canadian visitors to El Salvador is growing year by year and this is a positive sign for the country.”

Describing El Salvador as a “compact destination with many resources,” Ayala said that the country’s natural features offer plenty of opportunities for active and adventure travel, which have become some of El Salvador’s main tourism draws. The country is recognized internationally as a top surfing destination, while travellers looking for a more serene aquatic experience can explore the underwater fauna with a scuba diving experience. On dry land, Ayala said that the country features more than 300 km of beaches and several volcanoes which can be traversed by numerous trails. He added that El Salvador boasts the “best roads in Central America,” with three main highways moving travellers and residents with ease.

History buffs will also have plenty to explore thanks to El Salvador’s Mayan heritage; among the country’s main historic draws are Tazumal, a 24-metre high Mayan pyramid (the tallest in the country, Ayala explained) and the San Andres Archaeological Park, where tourists can travel through time back to the height of the Mayan empire while remaining close to the capital city of San Salvador. Travellers looking to go even further back can explore the country’s museums, where the remains of mastodons and other ancient beasts are displayed, excavated from the countryside after being locked in stone for millions of years.

Ayala also addressed the perception of the country’s safety for travellers, a reputation which has historically been tarnished by negative media attention over the years due to political strife in the nation’s past and problems with gang crime in San Salvador. However, he explained that the country has developed a ‘tourist police’ force, with hundreds of officers patrolling the country’s main tourism hotspots.

In his address to the audience, Oscar Soriano, El Salvador’s Consul General in Toronto, also reiterated the safety of the country, adding travellers can enjoy their time in El Salvador without fear of violence.

“You can’t believe what the newspapers say about El Salvador,” he said. “You find good and bad people in any part of the world.”

More about El Salvador

• Canadians can fly to El Salvador with Air Canada and Avianca.
• El Salvador uses the U.S. dollar as its main currency.
• More than 541 bird species can be found in the country, making for extraordinary bird-watching opportunities.
• El Salvador features the largest concentration of Mayan petroglyphs - images carved into rocks and boulders - in Central America.
• The country’s highest point is El Pital, a mountain near the Honduran border; at 2,300 metres, the slopes are a hiker’s paradise.

PHOTO: Of the El Salvador Tourism Board: Roberto Ayala, tourist information technician & Alicia Aragon, product development coordinator.