This is a best prospect industry sector for this country. Includes a market overview and trade data.
Last Published: 8/26/2019

Overview
The United States is the top choice for Guatemalan travelers.  At least half of the traveling community chooses to travel to American destinations due to the increasing availability of non-stop convenient flights.

An estimated 1.4 million Guatemalans live in the U.S., creating a strong family tie between the two countries.  The States with the highest Guatemalan populations are California, Florida and New York, but there are also large Guatemalan communities in Illinois, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Texas.

In addition to family related tourism, Guatemalans head to the U.S. seeking entertainment experiences.  Travel to destinations with theme parks, shopping, National Parks and entertainment venues explodes during school vacations. 

Growing destinations for Guatemalan visitors are Massachusetts, Texas, Nevada, Washington, D.C., California, and Georgia. Business people or trade event attendees also constitute a large category of travelers. Guatemalans distinguish themselves by taking advantage of tourist opportunities while traveling for business, and will take time to conduct tourist activities.

Commercial carriers serve the Guatemalan market with 80 -100 direct flights per week to the United States, depending on the season. The carrier capacity for transporting passengers to the U.S. is approximately 610,000 seats per year.

The following airlines offer daily non-stop flights from Guatemala to the United States: American Airlines, Avianca, Delta Airlines, Spirit and United Airlines. Other airlines also service the Guatemalan market offering flights to the U.S. and multiple destinations, such as Aeromexico, Copa Airlines, Iberia, Interjet, Tag, and, Volaris.  Avianca, Aeromexico, Copa and Volaris transport thousands of Guatemalan passengers to the United States, with flights connecting in either El Salvador, Guadalajara or Panama.

Carriers offer non- stop flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, Orlando and Washington D.C. The durations of these flights range from two to four hours, which is very attractive for Guatemalans planning vacations or business trips.  From these major cities, airlines offer a significant number of connections to the rest of the United States and to the rest of the world.

Leading Sub-Sectors
Sectors within the U.S. Travel and Tourism market that are considered best prospects are:

  • Family attractions

  • Family-friendly hotels

  • Shopping venues (outlets and discount stores)

  • Entertainment shows

  • Sports events

  • Cruise trips


Many Guatemalans look to send their children to the U.S. to enhance their English speaking skills in exchange programs. There is also a market for Higher Education Schools among Guatemalan students.

Opportunities
CS Guatemala is active in promoting U.S. Travel and Tourism destinations.  CS actively supports the Visit USA Committee’s activities in the country, recruits delegations to attend important tourism trade events such as “International Pow Wow” (www.ipw.com), and maintains active contacts with the local media in order to feed them information on U.S. destinations for later distribution, printing and/or advertising.

The Visit USA Committee in Guatemala organizes a targeted International Trade Show every year to promote the U.S. as a travel and tourism destination.  Airlines, hotels, car rentals, insurance companies, cruise lines, U.S. Convention and Visitors Bureaus, and U.S. Tourism Offices are among the main exhibitors. Interested parties may contact Senior Commercial Specialist, Antonio Prieto (atonio.prieto@trade.gov) at the U.S. Commercial Service Office in Guatemala. This year the International Trade Show will take place on August 23-24, 2018.

In May 2014, Guatemala became a part of the Brand USA Committee to focus on the Mexico and Central America Region. An executive working group, led by the Visit USA Committee, prepared a Strategic Plan in accordance with Brand USA Business Objectives for the following years.   Efforts to align strategies will create opportunities for new destinations and activities to become available for promotion in Guatemala.

Web Resources
U.S. Travel Association:  www.ustravel.org
Visit USA Committee Guatemala:  www.visitusaguatemala.org     
US Commercial Service in Guatemala:  www.export.gov/guatemala
Brand USA: www.thebrandusa.com

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.