Word: martelis
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...Martínez, however, thinks Hondurans are traveling because of economics, not political solidarity. "It's an opportunity to see Roatán, which has always been expensive for Hondurans," he says. And in many ways, the ousted minister notes, promoting internal tourism is the only option the Micheletti government has, since no one else will pay attention to them...
...Martínez, who was ousted from the government along with Zelaya after the country's June 28 coup d'état, was apologetic but unflinching about showing the video. "I'd like to tell everyone to come to Honduras and that it's a tranquil place and everything is beautiful, but you think I'd be successful with that message?" he says. "Of course not." Acting Honduran Tourism Minister Ana Abarca, appointed by the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, and other representatives of Honduras' de facto tourism institute were prohibited from attending the Central American Travel Market...
Tourism was the country's main economic motor, but since the coup, says Martínez, Honduras' tourism industry - which grew by a robust 9% in 2008 - has plummeted 70%. The 7% tourism growth projections for 2009 are now expected to dip into the red. And the 155,000 Hondurans employed by the tourism industry are, in the words of Martínez, "suffering violently." Several TACA airlines flights to Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, which used to bring hundreds of tourists to Honduras every day, have been canceled. A project to build an international airport...
Despite Honduras' string of misfortunes, Martínez remains optimistic that the country's political situation will normalize and that tourism will help pull it out of the hole. Several big projects, such as Carnival Cruise Lines' tourism dock, under construction in Roatán, and a $15 million golf course-beach resort in the north of the country are still moving forward - a sign, Martínez says, of future recovery. "It's a matter of recuperating our international image, and I think that can happen overnight - just the same way we moved from positive to negative...
...meantime, says Martínez, "we are still a state without individual guarantees. The police can come into your house without court order, you can be arrested without reason, and there's no freedom of movement." He wants tourism to come back to Honduras, just not on Micheletti's watch. "I'm not saying I am encouraging travel to Honduras, because I have shown you that the situation [for tourism] does not exist," Martínez told the journalists in El Salvador. "But what I am saying is, Please don't forget us, because we are going to solve this...