Regina Hurtado. Chief of Tourism Promotion and Marketing Policy in Nicaragua

Q- Regina, can you tell us a little bit what strategy Nicaragua will pursue in both Spain and Europe as far as promotion is concerned?

A- What we´re planning to do in 2005 is focus our efforts on the end user. We want to paint a better picture of Nicaragua, we want to spread the many attractions that his country has to offer. We know all along this is one of the least known countries in the Central American region and we just want to turn that around. We want to put the country on the map and spread the word among Spanish and European travelers.

Q- And how are you going to do that?

A- Through mass media. We´re planning a teamwork strategy with news organizations, especially those outlets that deal with tourism and travel information. We want to go hand in hand with you, guys, and invite you to make press trips across the country. We believe there´s no better way to learn about a country than visiting that country. That´s part of what we plan to do in 2005.

Q- As to those press and FAM trips, are you going to organize them through CATA or by means of some representatives in European nations?

A- Absolutely. CATA (Central America Tourism Agency) will be in charge of all coordinating efforts.

Q- When are you planning to do that?

A- Right away. We´re sending out invitations to different news organizations and wholesalers that are covering the Nicaraguan market or are interested in giving a shot at it. On the other hand, we´ll double our effort next year to beef up the country´s image overseas. We want to start out as soon as early 2005, and together with CATA post the exact dates.

Q- What European countries will be the ones Nicaragua will zero in on?

A- First of all Spain, followed by Germany, U.K. and the Netherlands, in that order.

Q- What tour operators will be working with you?

A- All (tour operators) are welcomed. We know Nicaragua is a new travel destination. There´s a tremendous interest in most tour operators that have visited us, and that´s why I think this fair has been so successful for us. We´ve had our hands full from the word go and all of our expectations have been fulfilled. The interest in Nicaragua that we see right now is really huge.

Q- Has this Central America Travel Market gone beyond your wildest expectations?

A- Yes, it has. We´d logged a certain number of appointments in our agenda and we´ve almost run out of all the advertising materials we brought along. We´ve run out the string in terms of prearranged appointments and meetings, especially with businesspeople who are interested in visiting the country. Many of them have dropped by the stand and asked me for a few minutes to meet them , even though they didn´t have any appointments. Of course, we sat down will all of them. This is very important to us because it shows an increasingly larger interest in our country as a travel destination. I can see that not only the (Nicaraguan) Tourism Institute is busy, but also many of our companies are also running pretty tight agendas. That´s quite a huge success for us.