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View from El Pital, Chalatenango |
When most international headlines about your country feature gang violence or migrants leaving their homes, it is a challenge to be in the tourism business. An article from ABC News titled
El Salvador tries to shed its reputation as a murder hotspot to attract tourists, explores the challenges:
'Don't skip El Salvador'
"People need to understand that the gangs have their own business and their own problems. They are concentrating on each other and they don't care about tourists," Mr Carrillo says.
"I tell people that in El Salvador, you don't have to be careful, you need to use common sense like everywhere else — there are streets all over the world that you shouldn't walk down, the same here.
"Through word of mouth, presenting at international tourism conventions and social media campaigns we are gradually changing the perception that El Salvador is a place you skip, especially because once tourists come here our people are so friendly and they fall in love with our beaches, wildlife, volcanos and coffee plantations."
El Salvador's Ministry of Tourism has done a nice job updating its
English language website to highlight the attractions of this Central American country. Take a look at
it and get a sense of what you are missing if you have not been to El Salvador recently.
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