Why You Should Visit Guatemala City, the Best Travel Deal in Central America Melissa Kravitz - Mic
go to original September 20, 2017

Metropolitan Cathedral at Constitution Square in Guatemala City, Guatemala (Diego Grandi/Shutterstock)

What do Reykjavik, Copenhagen and Positano all have in common? These smaller destinations have attracted hordes of travelers in 2017, who obsessively captured their photogenic landscapes and distinct food cultures on social media. And these spots aren’t necessarily once-in-a-lifetime trips that drain your resources, but doable, attainable vacations you can visit in less than a week on a reasonable budget.

So how do you find the next big destination before it becomes too big? I was determined to find out what the next “it” spot might be, and before it inundated my Instagram feed.

When Marriott invited me to stay at their new property in Guatemala City, a place none of my friends had been to and a destination I never thought of visiting, I jumped at the opportunity to check out a so-called up-and-coming destination — before the crowds descend, as they have to Reykjavík. According to data provided by Marriott, Guatemala is forecasted to welcome 1.612 million international tourist arrivals by the end of 2017.

External data backs up Guatemala’s surge in popularity. Intrepid Travel has seen a 22% growth in U.S. bookings to Guatemala from 2016 to 2017; an Expedia data expert confirmed via email that interest in Guatemala is up over 20% this year since the same period in 2016.

Americans are interested in Guatemala. But why?

“Guatemala has the perfect combination of cultural sites, picturesque views and extreme adventure to make it a must-see destination for a range of travelers,” Paul Adán, vice president of development for Marriott’s Caribbean and Latin America Region, said about Marriott’s plans to open two additional hotels in Guatemala City by 2019. Adán cited over 19,0000 conferences and meetings in Guatemala, most of them in the capital city, in 2016, as a sign that Guatemala is rapidly developing, motivating him to expand the brand’s portfolio for business travelers and, by extension, tourists. Regionally, Adán also predicts Nicaragua and Costa Rica to rise in popularity in the next few years, for similar reasons to Guatemala.

Read the rest at Mic

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