According to the Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Report 2017 carried out by the World Economic Forum every two years, the countries in the Central America region have shown little progress in the conditions offered to tourists.

Panama was the best ranked, taking position 35 followed by Costa Rica in position 38. El Salvador was the country that took more steps back losing 14 positions in the ranking.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index measures “the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the travel and tourism sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country”, states the WEF website.

The analysis includes 136 economies around the world. “The theme of this edition Paving the Way for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Future, reflects the increasing focus on ensuring the industry’s sustained growth in an uncertain security environment while preserving the natural environment and local communities on which it so richly depends” explains the report.

Costa Rica went from position 42 in 2015 to position 38 with an overall score of 4.2 (max score is 7). The country ranked high in safety and security with a 5.4; prioritization of travel and tourism (5.2); natural resources 5.4 and tourist and service infrastructure 5.3.

There are still many areas that need improvement the lowest scores came from cultural resources and business travel, ground and port infrastructure, air transport infrastructure and price competitiveness.

Nicaragua ranked 92, Guatemala 86, Honduras 90 and El Salvador 105.