Following two years of activities, the Programme on SMEs’ Market Access in Rural Tourism in Central America, conducted within the ST-EP Initiative framework, has been finalized.

This project consisted, during the first phase, of a regional seminar on the subject of e-commerce organized by the Central American Integration System (SICA) in El Salvador with the participation of rural establishment owners and managers in Central America, as well as members of the Federation of Tourism Chambers of Central America (FEDECATUR).

In the second phase of the project, technical guidance was provided to the SMEs aiming at improving their e-commerce mechanisms and the optimization of existing tools assisting in the promotion of the rural tourism offer in Central America. In the highlight of activity are the website design of the Central American Federation of Tour Operators (FACOT), and the renovation of the RED RURAL (Network of Rural Lodging and Rural Tourism of Central America) website making it more interactive, attractive and efficient. If you wish to find more information on rural tourism in Central America, visit: www.travelcentroamerica.com   and    www.turismoruralcentroamerica.com

Also, an application operational on Android, BlackBerry and iPhone platforms was developed containing tourist information delivered by Central American SMEs, facilitating access to the regional tourism offer.

The two phases of this project were implemented thanks to the financial contribution of the ST-EP Foundation.