Vol.002, April 2009
EXPERIENCE g
Denny’s Beach Hotel, The Golden Beach, Mariscos, Izabal lake
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EXPERIENCE g What’s new... Three new Maya touristic routes are about to be launched to the international market Page 2
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New hot spot for Birding Guatemala is booming launching new top class touristic products worldwide Page 3
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Open to investment From the CAFTA agreement, Guatemala has been making constant changes to promote international investments. Page 4
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Shore Excursions Guatemala is offering a wide menu of shore excursions to the cruise industry. Page 5
a The gold coast New destinations are blooming this spring in Guatemala. Boutique hotels and services are found everywhere. Page 4
This season’s savings! FREE tour
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New ‘Mayan People’ ethnic tourism program in Guatemala
*for every 9 passengers in one same tour.
*Each coupon is valid for each 9 group booked and paid cash at our booth at the cruise terminal at an adult rate for the same shore excursion. Not valid on previous purchases. May not be combied with any other offer or discounts. Cash will be given to the passenger’s reservation name. Must present a valid ID. Must present this coupon to cashier prior making purchase.
Coupon number: TRX-WCPC-002-030309
by PPDM, March 2009 Guatemala has announced the launch of a new “Mayan People” ethnic tourism program which includes the development of three new tourist routes: The Mayan Universe Trail, the Mayan Calendar Trail, and the Mayan Dualism Trail. All services and products in the three new routes were provided by members of the country’s large indigenous Mayan community, including local businesses, cultural associations, artists, craftsmen and tour operators. The new routes will provide visitors with a true insight into the Mayan culture, and how this survives today. Besides exploring some of the main archaeological sites and sacred places, visitors will also have the opportunity to learn about Mayan food, clothes, crafts, spiritual ceremonies and traditions. The routes run through areas where there is a big Mayan population such as Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango, Totonicapan, Quiche, Huehuetenango, Solola, Retalhuleu, Quetzaltenango, Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz. Tourists will have the opportunity to share with Mayan communities their home, their food and their traditions while helping them progress through a sustainable working system. There are also plans for a central reservations office to manage all visits on the three trails. Some details of the routes were revealed in the latest Local Chamber of Tourism (CAMTUR) summit in highlands of Quetzaltenango. Tourists from around the globe will have the opportunity to learn the Maya tradition from the Maya people, from the source. The citizens of the world will now have the chance to help Guatemala “rise from the ashes” through ethnic tourism. “Pueblos Mayas” has been called and promises to bring a sustainable way of living to many Mayan heritage families. A local tourism consortium has shown interest in promoting the “Pueblos Mayas” project and develops the idea of positioning it with the humanitarian community of the world.
Coupon is valid from: march 4th till april 22nd, 2009
WHAT’S NEW IN GUATEMALA
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SA ILI N G seen them before, occur in
Guatemala: Next “Hot” Birding/ Ecotourism Destination? Written by Dave Mehlman Published on March 17th, 2009 in Birds, Central America, Rainforests, The Nature Conservancy
I recently returned from
Great news - as of March 10th 2009 the seven countries that have been working together in Central America to help conserve the sport fishing in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama among others have come together and signed an agreement to work together towards "sustainable fisheries management". It has taken a year of discussions and a meeting to get this far - but it is certainly a start. They have built a constructive agenda with common points of interest - all aimed at building and acknowledging the value of the sport fishing industry in a year. We will continue to monitor the developments, and certainly don't expect overnight results - just happy to see some co-ordination, awareness and effort in the region!! As an update to this discussion/thread: There have been continuing discussions and debate in Costa Rica - driven by Incopesca to adopt new regulations aimed at preserving the sport fishing in the region. Measures discussed (and continuing to be discussed) include - Ban on export of sailfish harvest - 30 mile enforcement zone for long-lining This is great news for all of us, and we commend the effort - hopefully this bill will be adopted soon........we will let you know! http://greatsailfishing.com/en/Costa-RicaFishing.html
example, where else are you going to see flocks of Townsend’s and Tennessee Warblers hanging out with Crescent-chested Warblers? Even the songs seem to be a bit more magical there — for example, that of the Brown-backed Solitaire. Guatemala’s archaeological sites are world-famous, and justly
participating in the 5th
so. For example, Tikal National Park
International Bird Watching
is without peer in many ways.
“Encounter” in Antigua,
Central America supports the TOTAL Ban on killing billfish
different mixes and habitats. For
However, if you are like me, when
Guatemala. The encounters have
you go to places like this, it is hard
been developed by the
to decide whether to look at the
Guatemalan National Bird Watching Roundtable (Mesa Nacional de Aviturismo) with the assistance of INGUAT, the Guatemalan Tourism Institute.
spectacular ruins or the wildlife — both catch your eyes, although in different ways. Tikal is part of the larger Maya Forest region, where The Nature
Based on this visit, I am
Conservancy has worked for many
convinced that Guatemala is
years, both in Guatemala and in
ready to go as a major destination
adjacent Belize and Mexico. This
for birding/avitourism/ecotourism
area has much to offer the
(however you want to describe it).
ecotourist, whether birder or
The country has everything you might want in a destination: well
archaeologist. Check it out!
over 700 species of birds (more on this below), great infrastructure for tourism, knowledgeable guides, a rich and very much living culture, and a past without parallel. How can you not go there? For birders, Guatemala offers a delectable mix of resident and migrant birds (the
(Image: Logo of the 5th
latter only if you go in the “winter”
International Birdwatching
months). Many of the resident birds
Encounter, courtesy http://
are spectacular, rare and eagerly
www.birds-guatemala.org/en/)
sought after by birders — birds such as the Resplendant Quetzal, Horned Guan, and Pink-headed Warbler. Even the migrants, though most North Americans are likely to have
EX P ER I EN C E Guatemala open to foreign investment The 2004-2008 pro-business administration of President Oscar Berger made promotion of foreign investment (FDI) and competitiveness a priority and implemented a series of reforms to improve transparency, combat corruption, and spur economic growth. In January 2008, Alvaro
Colom of the National Union for Hope (UNE) party took office. President Colom has pledged to continue to promote foreign investment, enhance competitiveness, and expand investment in the export and tourist sectors. Guatemalan efforts to improve competitiveness and the investment climate have been recognized by the World Bank’s Doing Business Report, the Global Competitiveness Index, and foreign investors. The Doing Business Report placed Guatemala in the list of reformers in 2006 and 2007. According to data from the Guatemalan Central Bank (Banguat), the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2005 totaled USD 226.8 million, increased by 56% in 2006 to USD 353.8 million, and preliminary data indicates that FDI reached USD 535 million in 2007. Hundreds of U.S. and other foreign firms have active investments in Guatemala. Guatemala passed a foreign investment law in 1998 to streamline and facilitate foreign investment. The U.S. - Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) entered into force in Guatemala on July 1, 2006. As part of the CAFTA implementation process, the Guatemalan Congress approved a law that included amendments to the existing intellectual property rights protection (IPR), government procurement, commerce, insurance, arbitration, and telecom laws and to the penal code to ensure compliance with CAFTA. A new e-commerce law and further reform to insurance
regulations are pending in Guatemala’s Congress, and if approved, will further enhance market access for U.S. companies. CAFTA established a more secure and predictable legal framework for U.S. investors operating in Guatemala. Under CAFTA, all forms of investment are protected, including enterprises, debt, concessions, contracts and intellectual property. U.S. investors enjoy, in almost all circumstances, the right to establish, acquire and operate investments in Guatemala on an equal footing with local investors. There are no impediments to the formation of joint ventures or the purchase of local companies by foreign investors. The absence of an equities market in which shares of publicly owned firms are traded makes takeovers difficult. Most foreign fir ms therefore operate through locally incorporated subsidiaries. There are no restrictions on foreign investment in the telecommunications, electrical power generation, airline, or ground transportation sectors. The GOG privatized a number of stateowned assets in industries in the late nineties including: power generation and distribution, telephone, and grain storage. The Foreign Investment Law removed limitations to foreign ownership in domestic airlines and ground transport companies in January 2004. Foreign banks may open branches or subsidiaries in Guatemala subject to Guatemalan financial controls and regulations. These include a rule requiring local subsidiaries of foreign banks and financial institutions operating in Guatemala to
m e e t G u at e m a l a n c a p i t a l a n d l e n d i n g requirements as if they were stand-alone operations. Some professional services may only be supplied by professionals with locally recognized academic credentials. Public notaries must be Guatemalan nationals. Foreign enterprises may provide licensed professional services in Guatemala through a contract or other relationship with a Guatemalan company. An insurance law is
currently pending in the Guatemalan Congress that would allow foreign insurance companies to open branches in Guatemala, a requirement under CAFTA that must be in place by 2009. Mining has historically been a sensitive issue in Guatemala and operations in Guatemala have been subject to protests. Subsurface minerals and petroleum are the property of the state. Contracts for development are typically granted through production-sharing agreements. New legislation resulted in a more transparent contracting process, although the suspension in 2002 of a hydrocarbon exploration contract on environmental grounds, and without due process, raised some concerns among investors. Complex and confusing laws and regulations, inconsistent judicial decisions, bureaucratic impediments, and corruption continue to constitute practical barriers to investment. Domestic and foreign firms must publish their intent to conduct business, agree to Guatemalan legal jurisdiction, and register with the Ministry of Economy in order to incorporate formally in Guatemala. Foreign firms are subject to additional, time-consuming requirements, including: demonstrating solvency, depositing operating capital in a local bank, supplying financial statements, contractually agreeing to fulfill all legal obligations before leaving the country, and appointing a Guatemalan citizen or foreign resident (with work permit) as legal representative. The requirements are not used specifically to screen or discriminate against foreign companies, but the procedures can serve as a disincentive to investment. More information about investing in guatemala: http://www.state.gov/e/eeb/ifd/ 2008/100874.htm
EX P ER I EN C E G U ATE M AL A Photo Gallery
turixativo.com
Antigua streets
Shore excursion in Guatemala
Coban’s fresh market
Atitlan lake
Tikal National Park
We just returned from Guatemala. I have pictures from our tour at www.worldgallerygifts.com/ cruisephotos.html. We booked with Turix Activo, http:// www.turixactivo.com/ and they were excellent! Our group of 25 (all family and friends) enjoyed out day. Louis at Turix was great about answering all of my emails very promptly. We tweeked our schedule a few times and he was very helpful with suggestions. I had wanted to try and visit an orphanage and he researched the options and got back to me with all options (the orphanage was too far but he offered a nursery school). This is what we did: 1st - Hibicus Project - http:// www.hibiscusprojectizabal.com/ It is a small Mayan museum. The people/ owners there were wonderful! It was only 20 minutes from the boat. 2nd Iquana Mission - http:// www.turixactivo.com/ ver_notic...mostrar_center. They raise iguanas to be released into the wild. My kids loved this! They let my girls take an iquana with them for the day to be released into the wild at the waterfalls that afternoon. Those iquanas clung to their shirts all day. You can see a picture that I posted of my daughter eating at McDonalds
with the iquana stuck to her shirt. 3rd - Waterfalls - we decided it would probably be best to do this last so that we wouldn't be wet all day, and we thought that it would probably be less crowded (and it was). Everyone loved this too. Leo, one of the 3 guides (we had 3 guides and 3 vans that followed each other for 25 people. Leo was the best!) made sure everyone could swim, helped to carry the bags, and helped to watch our kids in the water. He was very proud of his country and explained everything to us. We learned a lot on this tour and had a great time! My sister has back trouble and could not make it all the way up. One of the guide took her down, stayed with her, and my sister had a great time visiting with her. They have their tour options on their website but you can suggest something that is not on their website and they can work it out. Also, the cost was reasonable in my opinion. It was $70 per adult (less for children) and this was for all day with admission into the 3 places above. I think just the waterfalls tour with the ship was $70. We will use them again in the future. We will also request Leo again because he was the best! Guatemala is a great place and the people are wonderful. http://boards.cruisecritic.com www.turixactivo.com
EX P ER I EN C E G U ATE M AL A
The “Gold Coast” of Guatemala Have you always wondered how the Gold Coast of Australia got it’s name? A gold rush in the past? Or maybe they found treasure there. I can’t really say. There is one thing that I can tell you for sure. The “Gold Coast” of Guatemala is named for the golden color that shines on the southeast shore of Lake Izabal just before the sun sets. The sandy beaches, the palm trees, the very mountains themselves seem to glow for that short period of time before the tropical night falls. I have basked many times in that golden glow in the more than twenty years that I have lived at Denny’s Beach. When I first settled here there I had little to offer. I was without electricity and used a cooler to hold a few meals for the occasional traveler that would stop by in their sailing yacht or cayuco. My wife and I had little at the time but the memories are
golden now. Life was slow and easy, with little stress. In fact, it hasn’t changed a lot since then. Why not come and visit our very own “Gold Coast” and see it for yourself. Join in a game of beach volleyball and then cruise on down for a cool drink at the “Boardroom” pier with some good friends, and wait for that wonderful golden glow that is sure to come.
Denny’s Beach Resort Hotel Playa de Oro, Mariscos, Izabal Guatemala, C.A. Telefono: (502) 5398 0908 Tel/Fax: (502) 5171 7477 info@dennysbeach.com www.dennysbeach.com
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EXPE RIE N C E G UA T E M A L A 16 calle 4-53 Zona 10 Edif. Marbella, Of. 4C Guatemala city, Guatemala 01010 reservations@turixactivo.com