TOURISM Achievements 2011-2014
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TOURISM Achievements
Phase I
INFORMATION, PROMOTION AND SALES IN DIGITAL MEDIA el corazón de centroamérica
Online promotion and direct sales (PlanTurismo) for hotels and the CDV Hotel Network, channel manager with connection to global networks such as: Booking, Hostel World and Metrico.com
500%
BEFORE 2012 17 companies with online sales to ProParque destinations
NOW: 93 hotels making online sales through 2014.
tourism destinations
We contributed to the development of the Planturismo.com service, an online promotion and sales service for small and medium hotel rooms in Honduras; it has the capacity to expand its offerings in the Central American region.
8%
50.5%
In 2011, 5 Honduran destinations were evaluated; results showed that only 8% of hotels were making online sales.
After developing and implementing Planturismo, online sales increased by 50.5%.
A baseline study was carried out to identify the main operational limitations of tourism MSMEs; the issue of insecurity was highlighted as one of the main factors affecting the country’s image. Low tourism service quality
15.0%
Inadequate access routes
15.1%
Lack of cooperation in the sector
Honduras.Travel, the new official website of the country is a joint effort of CANATURH and IHT aimed at promoting destinations and tourism companies.
238
MSMEs registered
Data from Google Analytics 2 months after the website’s launch.
The project invested in personal training sessions for businessmen in the promotion and marketing of their enterprises through Social Media.
39 MSMEs
Trained on social network use to improve their businesses.
Great service!!
17.0%
Limited promotion of destinations
26.6%
Lack of government support
43.3% 63.0%
Insecurity USAID ProParque baseline.
We contribute to improving the country’s image through massive digital media. With project support, CANATURH contracted the company PR Newswire to distribute press releases with positive news to improve Honduras’s international image.
24 press releases
1,248 online visits
202 media outlets in the U.S. and South America
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT PROJECT TO CERTIFY RESTAURANTS IN THE SICCS STANDARD. The Restaurant Integral Quality and Sustainability System (SICCS) Standard was promoted by SITCA through a public-private technical commission, the Central American Tourism Council. The Standard was approved by all the Central American Tourism Ministers at the LXXXIX Ordinary Meeting of the Central American Tourism Council held on September 12, 2013. SICCS Standard Training to: For the first time, the 2014 National Tourism Council was focused on Gastronomy. The quality required by SICCS Standard is verified in three aspects: Operational, environment and social responsibility.
15 consultants 10 auditors 176 restaurants in 7 destinations 32 establishments recommended for certification.
INCREASED CAPACITY OF TOURISM ENTREPRENEURS TO MARKET RURAL DESTINATIONS IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL TOURISM FAIRS. Entrepreneurs and members of local tourism chambers were trained in such issues as, participation and negotiation techniques at fairs, analysis of the competition’s offering, trends in the travel industry, integration of product offering and ability to create and sell bundled packages for a destination. We have prepared
Sales guides for 5 destinations.
4 tour maps of the destinations.
Participation in 11 tourism fairs for promotion and sale:
Multiple tourism packages for 6 destinations.
The expected result is greater exposure of rural destinations and of Honduras in tourism markets and increased sales.
4 national and 7 international. STRENGTHENING OF THE OFFERING AND MARKETING OF AVITOURISM.
10 guides prepared 5 guides in service
operating their own avitourism tours on a national level.
• Preparation of manual to train specialized guides. This manual establishes the standards to train, certify and record all active avitourism guides in the National Tourism Registry. • Development of database of all active avitourism guides in Honduras. • Greater access to the international birdwatchers market, as a result of 2013 and 2014 participation in the British Birdfair. • Preparation of publicity materials and new itineraries for avitourism tours. • In support of the Global Village Program, co-manager of Cerro Azul Meambar National Park on Lake Yojoa, two birdwatching towers were built, which are necessary infrastructure for bird watching tourism.
We have established business relations between tour operators and avitourism guides, who can offer this product with high standards of quality and reliability.
EXECUTION OF CULTURAL FESTIVALS AND EVENTS TO PROMOTE DESTINATIONS
Gracias Convoca 2013 y 2014 ExpoCopan 2014 Festivales Valle de Ángeles
Hotel occupancy
• The Chamber of Tourism of Gracias, Lempira has successfully held two Gracias Convoca festivals in July 2013 and 2014. The festival was recognized by the Mayor as an official event of National Identity month and has positioned itself to various sectors of the population, who are already looking forward to participating in future events. • The Chamber of Tourism of Sta. Rosa de Copán developed the event Expo-Copan 2014. The activity created an alliance between the private coffee and private tourism sectors to promote both. As a result of the success achieved, the local government declared ExpoCopán as an official event to be held every year in the month of the City’s Foundation. • Tourism businesses and the tourism chamber of Valle de Angeles developed a mechanism to hold monthly cultural events in various places in the city in order to offer more entertainment to visitors and bring economic movement to different parts of the city.
NEW MECHANISMS TO RAISE THE QUALITY OF SMALL HOTELS The Association of Small Hotels (HOPEH) developed a range of services that contribute to members improving their management capacities. The available services and products are:
Improvement of management capacities of small hotels:
40
hotels
Bodegon Hotelero: electronic platform for collective purchases with 56 suppliers
• Manual of hotel operational procedures. • Manual of hotel administrative processes. Training videos available at: www.smallhotelshonduras.org
35 hotels audited in HOPEH quality standards, 5 have been certified and 30 are implementing the requisites they were lacking for certification.
ACONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL TOURISM NORMS • IHT reformed the regulatory framework for tourism guides in order to raise the quality of service and training standards. • INFOP, with project support, prepared a Manual to train national and local guides. The manual establishes a national benchmark for the basic knowledge that guides are required to know and provides other educational institutions with guidelines to provide training in this field. • In 2011, Honduras did not have regulations and guidelines for planning and developing tourism in protected areas. Through the joint work of ICF and other public and private actors, two instruments were created that guide the development of tourism in these areas and strengthen the National System of Protected Areas – SINAPH. The instruments are: - PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL ECOTOURISM POLICY AND STRATEGIC GUIDELINES FOR THE HONDURAN NATIONAL SYSTEM OF PROTECTED AREAS (SINAPH). - PROPOSAL FOR AN ECOTOURISM COMMERCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM IN SINAPH PROTECTED AREAS. Based on the guidelines established by the ICF and with specialized technical support, co-managing organizations of protected areas and the tourism sector formulated strategies to develop tourism in three protected areas: La Tigra National Park, Cerro Azul Meambar National Park and Montaña de Celaque National Park.