Honduras Tourism 2015
Honduras tourism 2015: Significant upcoming events.
As 2015 gets off to a start, I want to take a few minutes to analyze and share which, if any will be the big events and happenings for Honduras tourism 2015.
Right off the bat, there are two different events that will mark the year and the progress of Honduras tourism 2015: The inauguration of the Copan Ruinas airstrip at Rio Amarillo Copan will be one, the other truly significant event will be the visit of the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai to Honduras.
The Copan Ruinas airstrip is well under way and should be officially inaugurated at the end of February or early March. I would be willing to bet it will be postponed until March to coincide with the visit of the WTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.
Mr. Rifai’s visit to Honduras will be significant because of two different reasons: He will arrive on the 19th of March to Tegucigalpa, and is scheduled to meet with President Juan Orlando Hernandez and the members of CANATURH (National Chamber of Tourism of Honduras) in an event that will include the inclusion of Honduras to the World Tourism Organization’s “Golden Book”. This, by far the most important event for Honduras tourism 2015 means that the government of Honduras will officially commit to promote sustainable tourism and make tourism an important pillar of the Honduras Economy. Of course, tourism is already an important pillar of the Honduran economy; however, the government of Honduras has never truly acknowledged it nor given it the importance that tourism deserves. Hopes are high that this event will not only have an impact on the tourism budget for years to come, but also open the doors for international aid and financing for tourism related projects.
A second significant result of the visit to Honduras by Secretary General Taleb Rifai will be the commitment by the Honduran Institute of Tourism, the National Autonomous University of Honduras, and CANATURH to establish a Sustainable Tourism Observatory under the auspices of the World Tourism Organization to monitor and measure the impact of tourism to the destinations of La Ceiba and Roatan. It is important to mention that today there are only 6 such observatories functioning in the World, five of them in China and one on the Greek Mediterranean Islands. As such, this will become the first such observatory on the American Continent! No small feat for a small country that has been struggling to recover from the economic impact generated by the political crisis of 2009. Mr. Rifai is scheduled to visit both La Ceiba and Roatan during his visit, and as I mentioned before, I would be willing to bet that he will then fly to Copan Ruinas for the inaugural event there. If this does happen, three destinations will be highlighted by the World Tourism press during the Secretary Rifai’s visit: La Ceiba, Roatan, and Copan Ruinas.
I am confident that these two events will have a major impact on the future of tourism in Honduras, and that Honduras tourism 2015 will be remembered as the year that tourism jumpstarted the Honduran economy for good!
I will be happy to report both events as they come together! Have a great year and keep your eyes open to follow Honduras tourism 2015 with me!
