International Tourism to Venezuela Triples in the First Half of 2024
Sunset on Margarita Island, Venezuela, July 15, 2024. Photo: X/ @pereo5_loremi
July 16, 2024 Hour: 1:24 pm
Authorities recorded 1,097,595 international arrivals, which represents an increase of 202 percent compared to 2023.
On Tuesday, the Venezuelan Tourism Ministry published a report showing that international arrivals to this South American country tripled in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023.
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Between January and June, authorities recorded 1,097,595 international arrivals, which represents an increase of 202 percent compared to the 363,249 arrivals in the first half of 2023.
Tourism Minister Ali Padron said that an increase of 25 percent is expected by the end of the year, with 1,258,486 international arrivals anticipated.
The number of travelers to Venezuela had been steadily declining since 2013 due to the economic war that the United States unleashed against the Bolivarian Revolution. Arbitrary sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies caused a prolonged economic contraction characterized by shortages of goods, the devaluation of the national currency, and hyperinflation.
This situation, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced international arrivals to 55,717 in 2020, their lowest level in the last decade. Since then, however, Venezuela has seen improvement in several indicators. For example, between 2022 and 2023, international arrivals increased by 91 percent.
“We have demonstrated our resilience and the ability to overcome any adversity,” Minister Ali said, assuring that tourism is the “secret weapon” of Venezuela, a country that has traditionally depended on oil exports.
In recent years, Margarita Island has been one of the main destinations for foreign tourists, including citizens from Russia, Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Ecuador, and Poland.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE
