The countries of Central America are experiencing a surge in tourism this year, it has emerged.
By the end of 2007, some eight million people from across the globe are expected to have visited attractions such as the Panama Canal, the wildlife refuges of Costa Rica and the volcanic sites of Nicaragua.
Speaking at the Central America Travel Market, Pilar Cano, general secretary of the Central America Tourism Agency (CATA), added that the countries' joint marketing was proving fruitful.
Costa Rica's tourism minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides explained: "Tourism provides a livelihood for the people of all seven countries. To keep it that way we must continue to work for peace as well as climate and environmental protection."
The seven countries that make up Central America are Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Belize.
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