After years of neglect, Venezuela tries to win over tourists

[Bacchus4.0]


.http://www.arabnews.com/news/461913

More Boasting the highest waterfall in the world, nearly deserted Caribbean islands and dense jungles with ocean views, Venezuela has everything a tourist could want — except the tourists are not coming.

In a country where explorer Christopher Columbus once believed he had found heaven on earth, officials are struggling to draw travelers, with only 700,000 visitors each year, in part due to Venezuela’s somewhat tarnished image.
After neglecting the tourism sector for years, in favor of the lucrative oil industry — Venezuela has the world’s largest proven reserves — the government in Caracas is now working hard to attract visitors.

However, the country suffers from outdated infrastructure — hotels, highways and domestic flights are all lacking — and wary foreigners who choose different destinations after seeing Venezuela’s high crime rates. “The main enemy of the development of tourism in Venezuela was oil,” Carlos Vogeler, regional Americas director for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), told AFP.
“When a country has such a major revenue generator, it has a tendency to ignore others.”

Venezuela’s new tourism minister, Andres Izarra, says he intends to put his country on the map as a vacation hotspot.
“Our goal is to reach one million foreign tourists” from 2014, he said. While infrastructure may be lacking, attractions surely are not. From the biodiversity of the Orinoco Delta to the richness of the Amazon jungle, from Andean peaks to the hundreds of kilometers (miles) of idyllic beaches, Venezuela seemingly has it all.
Angel Falls is the tallest waterfall in the world, the pristine coral reefs of the Los Roques archipelago attract divers, and others are keen to explore the “tepuis” — towering mountains in the southeast.

[MADem]

1. Crime capital of the world! I'd feel safer in Egypt, and that's saying alot! nt

[Bacchus4.0]

2. I visited about 5 times until about 2001

and then the chavistas turned it into what it is today. Another drawback for tourists is the currency exchange.

[MADem]

3. One of my grandfathers built a good deal of Caracas, between coups.

We're talking in the post WW2 era--late forties to late fifties. I'd like to go see if any of his buildings are still standing--but I'm not inclined to become a crime victim in my advanced years.

[COLGATE4]

4. Me too. But the end came when the people at

the Caracas Hilton told me not to be out on the street (even outside the hotel) after 6:00 at night because of the rampant crime. While I was there the last time a Venezuelan friend's daughter was carjacked by a uniformed officer of the National Police at gunpoint. Fortunately for her, a local cop saw her talking on her cel phone while driving away to some remote area and pulled the car over - he immediately saw what was happening and pulled the National cop out at gunpoint. She took off and was relatively unharmed.

[joshcryer]

9. I remember you telling this story.

I think the idea when you told it last time I saw it was that had it not been for that cop she would've likely been disappeared (possibly after being raped).

[COLGATE4]

11. You know, they say that memory is the

second thing to go. Proof positive that it's true - I didn't remember having posted the story before. Apologies. The concensus was that the cop was going to make her drive to some secluded spot, rape her, kill her and sell the car. (Precisely at that time they found a huge stash of stolen cars out in some remote place that the cops had stolen).

[joshcryer]

13. It was in the thread about the consul's daughter.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101477275

Direct link here, I just remembered that because in that thread I was appalled by the defense of the police there when if that incident happened in the west there would be an outcry (especially if it were a minority whom was targeted). So it stuck with me. Sorry if I recalled wrong but it seems the details are about the same.

[COLGATE4]

15. No, you are remembering correctly. I was just

whining to myself about having some 'senior moments', i.e. telling the same story over and over.

[COLGATE4]

5. If fact you'd BE safer in Egypt (even today). nt

[Bacchus4.0]

6. I think our chavista friends here should take a trip

I'll never understand after all this time, they've never been to paradise.

[COLGATE4]

7. What - and spoil all the fun they have pontificating

to the unannointed about the unsung glories of the Bolivarian revolution and the terrenal paradise the modern day Venezuela has become?

[joshcryer]

10. You'd be safer in Aleppo, Syria, in the midst of the civil war.

I am not kidding. I wish I was kidding.

[Socialistlemur]

8. Some reasons why Venezuela is a poor tourism destination.

Crime of course is a serious problem. But what seems utterly bizarre is the crime risk on the road from the Caracas airport into the city. This can be fixed easily with security patrols and watchtowers equipped with video cameras. But they have never given it any priority.

Then there's the cost. Because the currency is kept artificially high, and tourists are forced to use the official rate, it's crazy to pay a hotel bill with a credit card. Everything costs too much.

The lack of quality medical care is another bothersome issue. This includes non existent ambulance services, and the fact that if you have a problem and are taken by taxi to the hospital there's a chance the emergency room doesn't have the proper equipment and medicines.

Finally there's the poor and unsafe infrastructure. The local flights are always late and are unsafe. The roads are in bad shape, and very dangerous due to vehicle accidents.

One thing I found the last time I toured there was the complete lack of proper places to stop and take photographs, the lack of national park employees and park rangers (they are non existent), and the lack of trail maintenance, maps, and sign posts. Even the more popular trails right next to Caracas are poorly maintained and sometimes are quite unsafe.

Venezuela is an excellent example of the damage the oil industry can cause. The government is used to live off petrodollars, the currency is too high, and there's no priority given to other industries. This guy may claim whatever, he's going to lose that battle.

[COLGATE4]

12. The last time I was there you had to take one of the

ramshakle 'taxis' available at the airport. The new, modern taxis the hotels have in Caracas were allowed to take passengers to the airport, but they were not allowed to pick passengers up for the return to Caracas. On this unforgettable trip I was in a '68 Oldsmobile with holes in the floor and a leaking exhaust. Damned near asphyiated me on the hour-long drive. But you're right - there's no reason that trip should be as dangerous as it is - just government apathy.

[Socialistlemur]

14. You didn't plan ahead

That trip could have cost you your life. The recommended procedure is to contact a reliable limousine service and have the driver come with a second person who waits for you at a pre-arranged spot. This person will pone the driver who waits at the PdVsa gas station, and the driver comes and picks you up at the Departure area on the lower level. You get in the "limo" which should be a very plain four door vehicle, and the car takes off. You will be followed by a second vehicle which has only a driver. The two vehicles will then take the new highway to Caracas and take you where you are going to stay. The use of a second vehicle is advisable because the car jackers never attack a two vehicle combo (why bother when they can go after single vehicles?).

Most security firms advice not to carry weapons, it's a better idea to carry cash to pay robbers and avoid being kidnapped. On the other hand it may be a good idea to have the drivers and escorts carry weapons and body armour if you want to guarantee you won't be kidnapped. Armored cars are an option but kidnappers have been known to use military assault rifles and hand grenades, and they can flush you out if they really focus on it.

Overall I'd say its a better idea not to visit Venezuela, it's more like a war zone right now.