Tourism potential of the Department of Rivas, Nicaragua

  • Authors:
    Fundación ETEA para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación
    Publication:
    Fundación ETEA para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación
    Year: 2006

Abstract

The book “Potencial turístico del Departamento de Rivas, Nicaragua” is one of the expected results of the process initiated in 2001 by the Universidad Centroamericana de Managua, Nicaragua, and ETEA, whose main objective is to strengthen Nicaragua’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as the country’s main development agent within the framework of poverty reduction strategies. Both institutions continue to work in this endeavor today.

Some of the factors that have most influenced the interest in the development of tourism in Nicaragua are the effects of globalization and changes in regional economies as a result of free trade agreements, which have made it necessary to study this sector and its intra- and inter-sectoral relationships. The analysis and understanding of these relationships open up possibilities for better institutional support and more effective promotion through the formulation of policies for the tourism sector, incorporating the productive activity and its relationship with the territory to promote inter-company relations and the participation of the government and its institutions.

Our objective is to describe the most important characteristics of the tourism sector in Rivas in order to provide different users with information on the state or situation of the territory as a potential tourist destination and the companies that interact with it. Likewise, this first approach has the intention of generating information that will serve as input for the definition of policies and programs, and also contribute to the elaboration of the department’s strategic tourism plan.

The expected result of this effort is the present document, which presents its most relevant features, such as: socioeconomic and geographic aspects, infrastructure, local institutions and the relationship between local stakeholders. The above components have been combined at the territorial level to analyze the complexity of their interactions and help determine their potential for tourism development. A cluster approach has been carried out for each predominant economic sector in the department; the guidelines suggested in the Departmental Development Plan have also been incorporated.

View document (Spanish version)