El Salvador´s Tourism Clusters

Clusters
El Salvador´s
tourism competitiveness

Your Logo or Name Here
Cluster is a geographic concentration of related
companies, organizations, and institutions in a
particular field that can be present in a region,
state, or nation.
Clusters arise because they raise a company's
productivity, which is influenced by local assets
and the presence of like firms, institutions, and
infrastructure that surround it.

Italy, world leader in the production of high
fashion footwear, dominates two thirds of the
world exports of the sector. The Italian
leadership has been made possible by the
existence of a network of very efficient related
and support industries

Location and competition
• Location affects competitive
advantage through its influence on
productivity and on productivity
growth.
• Prosperity depends on the
productivity with which factors are
used and upgraded in a particular
location.

Cluster and Developing Economies
• The development of well functioning
clusters is one of the essential steps in
moving to an advanced economy.
• Firms must often vertically integrate.
• Backward
• Forward

Your Logo or Name Here 7
American fast food
companies are
undisputed world
leaders in the industry.
Much of their success
is due to the fact that
they have had to
satisfy very demanding
local clients, who value
convenience,
standardized quality
and speed in service;
since they don't have
much time to eat. Now
that these attributes
are increasingly
appreciated in other
markets, US chains
have been able to
apply what they have
learned and conquer
these new markets.

El Salvador´s
tourism
competitiveness

Definition
According to the conceptual framework
proposed by Michael E. Porter, the
competitiveness of a company or group of
these is determined by four fundamental
attributes of its local base. These attributes
and the interaction between them explain
why companies located in specific regions
innovate and remain competitive. These
attributes or elements are presented
graphically in the following figure:

Diamond of the
determinants of
the competitive
advantage
Government
chance
Factors
conditions
Strategy,
structure and
rivalry of
companies
conditions of
the demand
related
industries
and support

In the tourism industry, local demand is
made up of both domestic and foreign tourists
visiting the country. In this industry, instead of exporting products, it is
consumers who move towards tourist attractions. What is relevant about the
quality of the demand, in the proposed conceptual model, is the level of
demand that an industry on the part of the clients that it attends directly is
subject to. Therefore, the volume and trend of demand growth, its origin and
degree of segmentation, but fundamentally the tastes, demands and degree
of specialization of tourists visiting a destination must be analyzed.

CLUSTERS 12
The existence of specialized and
efficient support industries
creates competitive advantages
for a country. The related and
support industries deliver to the
companies belonging to the
“cluster” inputs, components and
services, tailored, at lower costs,
with superior quality, and
supplied quickly and
preferentially. This is a
consequence of closer ties of
collaboration, better
communication, mutual
pressures and constant learning,
which facilitate innovation and
continuous improvement within
the cluster.

For a tourist cluster to be
competitive, a vigorous
and innovative support
sector is essential. This
means good suppliers of
food and supplies for
hotels and restaurants;
good staff training
schools, both operational,
technical and managerial;
engineers and architects
specialized in the design
of tourism works and
other service companies
related to the activity.

Thank You
Kalle Persson
+1 23 987 6554
kalle@email.com
www.fabrikam.com

One of the most important sectors of the tourism industry is accommodation.
As mentioned in the second chapter of the present study, after the average
figure of 293 080 visitors was reached in 1978 in the country, the armed
conflict in El Salvador put an end to the peak of national tourism activity
during The seventies. These events impacted the hotel offer to stagnate it.

There are other points
worth highlighting from
the lodging sector
In its great majority, the capital is of Salvadoran origin. Associations is
reaching greater effectiveness and the institution representing the guild
has reached by consensus some agreements that have already
materialized in fact.

There are other points
worth highlighting from
the lodging sector
There is no specific legislation that regulates
its activity. ! There are also no tax incentives
or excise taxes levied on the hospitality
industry. ! The barriers to entry to the hotel
industry must be analyzed with a regional
perspective. In San Salvador, the main
barrier is the high investment required to
provide a top quality service. Outside the
capital, the lack of basic support services is
the main obstacle to entry

The war in El Salvador came to cut the
flourishing years of the tourist boom
during the seventies and led to the
bankruptcy of the vast majority of tour
operators. Only Amor Tour survived and
continues to work a quarter of a century
later.
The signing of the peace agreements in
1992 marked a new stage in the history of
national tourism. El Salvador was front
page news in all international media and
the expectations generated served as a
catalyst for the emergence of new
agencies; A year later, seven more were
running.

Tour operators do not enjoy legal incentives, nor are they
under the scrutiny of regulatory standards or minimum quality standards. The
barriers to entry to the sector are summarized in capital investment and adequate
international knowledge and contacts. Relations with other components of the
tourist cluster are very weak, for example, airlines do not have flights with
attractive prices for tourists; Hotels are just beginning to offer lower net rates and
only Nanch Tour maintains offices in the most prestigious hotel establishments in
the country; some restaurants let the guides eat for free, others arrange cheap
menus; craft shops do not maintain any contact, as is the case with car rental
companies; the airport management institution has only granted office space to
Nanch Tour; the National Parks and Wild Areas Service is limited to grant entry
permits to protected areas for customers; Finally, with Concultura there is no
relationship.

Raúl Castañeda, president of the Car Rental Association (ASRA),
estimates that there are currently about 30 companies, most of
them dedicated to the local market. Of these, 12 are members
of ASRA, including the most important companies (except
Budget); Only eighteen of them are duly registered with the
Salvadoran Tourism Institute (ISTU).
Rates range from US $ 25 to US $ 100 per day depending on
the type of vehicle, not including insurance or taxes. Some
companies specialize in specific niches. For example, Tropical
Car Rental specialized in the adventure tourism segment, for
which it created a “tour” operator that allows it to offer a
comprehensive package. In this way, the company provides
tourists with the necessary itineraries and reservations, rents a
4x4 car and provides a driver if necessary.

Salvadoran cuisine is generally
nutritious and of acceptable
flavor. While it is not a world-
famous cuisine (such as
Mexican, Spanish or French,
for example), its dishes are
appetizing for tourists. One of
the standard dishes of the
typical Salvadoran food is the
"pupusa". It is a cornmeal cake
stuffed with beans, cheese and
pork rinds, accompanied with
salad (variations in the
ingredients can be found).

The country's restaurants enjoy a good
image for several reasons: proper setting,
variety, quality, abundance of dishes and
low prices compared to other
establishments of the same nature abroad.
This has led many people to consider
national restaurants as "tourist attractions"
of importance.
The food industry in the capital has
expanded substantially since the end of the
armed conflict. According to Alfonso
Ramírez, Pizza Hut's operations manager,
the offer of chairs grew more than twice in
the last five years.
There are currently about five hundred
establishments of different categories in the
city of San Salvador, which indicates that
supply probably exceeds demand

The economic slowdown has affected the
sector in various ways. First, the number of
informal premises increased, as a mechanism
for the population to solve their unemployment
and underemployment problems; second, the
income available for consumption in
restaurants seems to have decreased. Likewise,
the customer is now more sensitive to price
increases. According to Graciela de Hollman, an
entrepreneur in the restaurant sector, the
average expenditure on food per customer has
decreased from 200 dollars to approximately
130 dollars (35% less). Even, the business of
meals to order has been affected: for
December of 2006, many companies limited
the budgets for the meals that offered to their
employees to 80 dollars by person, which did
not do before.
Restaurant owners believe that local demand is
demanding.

ARTESANIAS
Mercado Ex
Cuarte
Mercado de
Artesarnías
Ilobasco
Nahuizalco
SOL Y PLAYA
El Zonte
Mizata
La Libertad
El Cuco
Playas
negras
Tamarindo
El Palmar
El Tunco
EL
Parmacito
ÁREAS
NATURALES
PROTEGIDA
S
125 natural
areas with
potential to
integrate
the
Salvadoran
System of
Protected
Areas,
SISAP
ARCHELOGI
CAL SITES
Tazumal
Colima
San Andrés
LAKES
Coatepequ
e
Ilopango
Alegría
Güija
PARQUES
Saburo Hirao
Deninger
Bicentenario
La Familia
Planes de
Renderos

Support and
Related Sectors

www.casatur.org

Currently, private organizations have
entered into a strengthening process,
led by the Salvadoran Chamber of
Tourism (CASATUR), which brings
together several associations
composed of the majority of
companies engaged in tourism.
Non-profit, apolitical, non-profit or religious association, which is governed by
the laws of the Republic of El Salvador, by its Statutes and its Internal
Regulations. It was founded in 1978, due to the need for the various tourist
activities to be grouped into a single entity. The main purpose of the Chamber
is to promote the development of the tourism industry in El Salvador and
represent the interests of entrepreneurs in the sector, particularly those of
their associates

www.corsatur.gob.sv

On behalf of the public sector, the
Salvadoran Tourism Corporation
(CORSATUR) is the governing body of
the industry, and is in charge of Decree
Law No. 779 of July 25, 1996 to
promote and monitor private activity
in this field . The development and
growth priorities of the sector fall, in
turn, in institutions other than
CORSATUR, among which the Ministry
of Culture and Municipalities stand
out; However, their plans contemplate,
in a very poor way, actions in favor of
tourism.

The maximum authority of Corsatur is assisted by a general
director who carries the weight of the daily administration
of the entity, with 20 dependents distributed in the
following functional areas:
• Department of public relations and communications.
• Promotion and marketing department.
• Operations department.
• Planning Department.
• Department of Administration and Finance
TOURISM OFFERS
53 CIRCUITS OF
EL SALVADOR

www.istu.gob.sv

Before the creation of CORSATUR, the
direction of the tourist activity was
the responsibility of the Salvadoran
Tourism Institute (ISTU). The
institution, whose origins date back
to 1961 as an entity attached to the
Ministry of Economy, carried out a
promotion of the country of a certain
size during the 1970s, which
contributed to the takeoff of El
Salvador as a tourist destination.
They are a public utility entity, whose
purpose is the administration of the
Recreational Centers of its property,
as well as the real estate and facilities
that have been assigned according to
the laws

www.concultura.gob.sv

On September 20, 1991, the Executive Decree
for the creation of the National Council for
Culture and Art (CONCULTURA) was enacted as
a decentralized state entity of the Ministry of
Education. Its general objectives are:
1. Develop actions to protect and conserve
national heritage, promote the arts,
stimulate creativity and innovation and
disseminate expressions of national,
regional and universal culture, with a view
to achieving the affirmation and
strengthening of the country's cultural
identity.
2. Support the cultural and educational action
carried out by people and organizations of
the community, which benefits all social
sectors.

This body was founded in 1973, with the aim of “promoting El Salvador as a final
destination for conventions.” 11 Despite this, the current market conditions have not
allowed it to achieve its objective. To date, all activities related to conventions and
seminars are held in hotels, 12 considered by users as a better option for these
activities.
The International Fairs and Conventions Center (CIFCO) is a multi-purpose venue in
the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. Its facilities are located in Colonia San Benito, 5
kilometers from the center of the Salvadoran capital, in a residential area with
excellent transport facilities, easy access to first class hotels. It is also considered the
largest, most modern and functional convention center in Central America. It is
affiliated with the Union of International Fairs (UFI) and the Association of
International Fairs of America (AFIDA), which gives it a relevant category.

www.mundomaya.travel

The Mayan World is an area of more than 500,000 Kkm2, formed by the territory
currently occupied by Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the states of
the states of Campeche, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Tabasco and Yucatán, in Mexico.
For more than three thousand years, this region has witnessed the impressive
development of the Mayan civilization. It was here that the Maya captured all the
precision of their astronomical and architectural knowledge for the construction of
their majestic cities.
Institutional development
Training
Information systems
Promotion and commercialization

El Consejo Centroamericano de Turismo (CCT) es un
órgano del SICA, el cual está conformado por los
ministros de turismo de los gobiernos de Belice,
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua y Panamá y República Dominicana.
Objetivo
El principal objetivo de este Consejo es la
facilitación y fomento del desarrollo del turismo en
toda la región centroamericana, para lo cual
promueve que esta industria se integre como un
sector estratégico en cada país, a fin de coadyuvar
al desarrollo turístico sostenible de la región.
Además, pretende facilitar y estimular el desarrollo
del turismo en toda la región Centroamericana,
eliminando todo obstáculo e impedimentos al libre
movimiento de personas de la región e integrando
el fomento del turismo.

a integración turística del Sistema de Integración
Centroamericana, que facilita y estimula el
desarrollo sostenible del turismo en toda la región,
por medio de:
• La propuesta y/o definición de políticas,
estrategias y planes de acción, así como el
establecimiento de agendas intersectoriales e
interinstitucionales sobre los temas de interés.
• El seguimiento a la ejecución eficiente de las
decisiones adoptadas en materia de turismo
por la reunión de presidentes.
• La gestión ante organismos internacionales y
entidades de la institucionalidad regional, para
el apoyo en áreas de sus propias competencias.
• La definición e implementación de la estrategia
regional de mercadeo turístico.

Infrastructure

• International CEPA
• Moseñor Oscar
Arnulfo Romero
AIRPORTS
• Acajutla
• CutucoPORTS
HIGWAYS • Paved areas
• Streets

El Salvador´s Tourism Clusters

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (8)

Similar to El Salvador´s Tourism Clusters

Similar to El Salvador´s Tourism Clusters (20)

More from Ma E.C.C.

More from Ma E.C.C. (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

El Salvador´s Tourism Clusters