Working together to embrace tourism

by Dwight Wayne Coop A.

One reason for common cause is that, increasingly, visitors to the region are opting for the grand tour of the subcontinent, treating border crossings like turnstiles and the countries themselves as a complement of enchanted lands. This circumstance, and the presence of large competitors nearby — notably Mexico and Peru — make cooperation a practical necessity. Group efforts — by individuals or entire nations — will not take off without someone assuming leadership. In the short history of this collaboration, each country has contributed ideas, but Honduras has emerged as the leader. The Revue interviewed officials of the Honduran Institute of Tourism (IHT) to find out why. One reason turned out to be the autonomy of this agency. “Honduras is serious enough about tourism to have a cabinet ministry for it,” says Kenia Lima, IHT manager for marketing. “But the IHT is autonomous and shielded from politics. Presidents come and go, but we keep our jobs. We aren’t political appointees. The (resulting) stability has allowed us, as individuals, to gain experience that our counterparts in other countries don’t always have. Another country will say ‘let’s try this,’ or ‘let’s try that.’ But chances are good that Honduras has already tried it. We have an idea of what works and what doesn’t.”

A phone call to Lima during the interview seems to confirm this. With nearly adversarial perspicacity, she goes straight to the bottom line and negotiates hard with the caller, an airline seeking her cooperation on a tourism package. The conversation is short and - for the caller - fruitless, since this airline has no history of cooperation, nor is it offering enough to the two interests Lima is pledged to serve: her country and tourists. After a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Lima returns to the topic of the ATCA. "It's not about giving out tourist information," she says. "Anyone can do that. Instead, it's seven countries lobbying as a team with tour wholesalers, airlines and governments in Europe to make our region more attractive to people there. Honduras and its neighbors are still interested in North Americans. But Lima's colleague, Tatiana Siercke Núñez, IHT manager of planning and development, notes that Europeans take fewer, yet longer, vacations. Therefore, they are more likely to tour all of Central America at once. Millions of French, in fact, are off for all of April. So, it made sense for ATCA to pick a European country - Spain - as its headquarters.

Lima and Siercke stress that backpackers (mochileros) — whatever their origin — are always welcome in Honduras. This might go without saying if the tourism commissioner of another Latin American state had not insulted backpackers in 1999. “We are tired,” the official declared, “of useless backpackers who ... contribute so little. We’re going after high-end tourists from now on, instead of mochileros who come here to steal from archeological sites.” Lima dismisses such talk as not only stupid, but misinformed. “We need backpackers,” Lima declares without hesitation, “even those who make limited financial impact. They are the trailblazers. They sometimes discover worthwhile places to visit even before we do, and put them on the map. Many, perhaps most of these people, are highly educated. They know how to travel cheaply. We admire this.”

Not only that, she says, but there is a Honduran sector that depends solely on low-end travelers. Furthermore, backpackers who have a good time return years later with suitcases instead of mochilas, not to mention their families, and more cash. Nonetheless, a minority of backpackers cause problems. “I’ve never heard of any who poach relics,” Lima says, “but we take issue with those who come here and set up a business. For instance, a foreigner who opens a dive shop on [the Bay Island of] Utila is breaking our laws. Such a person assumes no liability, buys no insurance, pays no taxes. Then, when a diving acci-dent happens, they take off and leave us to answer for it. You can’t tell me that’s fair.”

IHT’s slogan “El turismo es empresa de todos” (Tourism is everyone’s enterprise) is a national maxim. Lima, whose manner is to deflect credit from herself for the agency’s accomplishments, pauses before conceding that the idea was hers. These words are the spark of a corporate philosophy, not only for IHT but “all six million Hondurans.” To that end, public venues throughout Honduras are decked with posters of smiling citizen “shareholders” of every description. Lima adds that Honduras’ “customers” may bring their complaints to IHT. “Sometimes we can help. We won’t always side with the tourist, since we often find that the person making the complaint was negligent, too. But we do listen, and sometimes we act. We’re open-minded.”

One strategy Honduras is using to prevent such trouble is outside advice. “We hired international consultants to set standards. They — not we — will define, for instance, what makes a hotel two-star or three-star. But once the standards are in place, we intend to enforce them. If a place says they have hot water, then they’d better have it. We’re even going to send people under- cover to ensure compliance.” Such standards will become more germane as the tourism base expands. Planning and development chief Siercke says that certain destinations which previously served only low-end tourism will soon cater to the high end. But there will be balance, she insists; the tourism assets that attract low-enders — including the occasionally maligned mochileros — will be protected.

Such balance will be seen in Tela Bay, which boasts spectacular Caribbean beaches and doorstep proximity to two national parks. Like dozens of other locations, it has always been a good value for budget travelers, but there have been no accommodations for high-enders. “On the one hand,” Siercke explains, “we need to protect all this. On the other, we need a level of development that can fund this protection and contribute to the local economy. We originally licensed a Canadian firm, but they ran into shortfalls. An Italian group then took over, but we had to make a few adjustments. One is that their luxury resort will have a golf course, which the original plan prohibited. But most of the limits we set for Tela Bay still apply. It will not become another Cancún.”

Honduras not only carries the baton in Central America’s march to draw more visitors; the nation also sits in the path of every grand-tourer. A look at the map reveals its centrality in the isthmus, and its contiguity with three other countries. Whirlwind tourists taking in the whole region cannot avoid hermosa Honduras, nor would they want to. When these and other visitors drop in at the IHT (a few blocks from the U.S. Embassy), they are delighted to find that there is often someone willing to attend to them even after official hours. Everyone from secretaries on up speaks English. Nor is the agency out to lunch for hours at midday.
When asked about all this, marketing chief Lima explains that IHT employees are committed to her tourism-as-national-enterprise ideal. “We want you to come see us,” she says, “and keep coming back.” •

IHT’s marketing manager Kenia Lima respects the backpacking crowd.		Planning and development boss Tatiana Siercke N. champions “balance.”