El Salvador: Results from "Stop Over" Tourist Scheme

5,000 tourists have taken advantage of the tourism promotion program known as Stop Over', which allows air passengers with connections of between 5 and 48 hours to go out of the airport without incurring any additional fees.

The Tourism Ministry said that since the program began in March 2015, 5,000 people left the Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero airport to do tourism activities while waiting for their next flight. 

Minister Jose Napoleon Duarte explained to Laprensagrafica.com that "... normally visitors go to Suchitoto, San Salvador or the port of La Libertad. Tour operators are responsible for providing the service to users or passengers."

"... Up until December 18, 2016,  2,396 people were registered as having used the "Stop Over" tourism program in El Salvador, in 2015 1,633 visitors used the platform, according to the MITUR. In addition, it was noted that 50% of all passengers on the "Stop Over" program boarded their flights in Mexico City, Lima, Los Angeles and San Francisco; and 62% of total passengers of the program reside in countries such as Colombia, the United States and Mexico."

Source: www.laprensagrafica.com