Nicaragua recorded a total of 474,000 tourists in 2020, ranking 132nd in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Nicaragua, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.069 tourists per resident, Nicaragua ranked 134th in the world. In Central America, it ranked 6th.
In 2018, Nicaragua generated around 544.00 million US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 3.9 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 1 percent of all international tourism receipts in Central America.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2018 spent about 366 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Nicaragua spend only around 298 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Nicaragua from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Nicaragua each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 51.00 million USD, or about 1.2 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 341,000 tourists at that time and roughly 150 USD per person. Within 23 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased drastically. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $544.00 million billion, 4.2 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $385 on their vacation in Nicaragua.
Full figures for 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are not currently available. However, national and international travel has been restricted worldwide, and some countries have even been closed off from the outside world altogether. Dramatic revenue losses are expected, with some countries experiencing losses of up to more than 80%.
All data for Nicaragua in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
474,000
2019
1.46 m
2018
1.41 m
544.00 m $
4.2 %
385 $
2017
1.96 m
841.00 m $
6.1 %
430 $
2016
1.60 m
642.00 m $
4.8 %
402 $
2015
1.46 m
528.00 m $
4.1 %
363 $
2014
1.39 m
446.00 m $
3.8 %
321 $
2013
1.27 m
417.00 m $
3.8 %
328 $
2012
1.23 m
421.00 m $
4.0 %
341 $
2011
1.12 m
391.00 m $
4.0 %
348 $
2010
1.07 m
314.00 m $
3.6 %
293 $
2009
1.01 m
336.00 m $
4.0 %
333 $
2008
1.01 m
303.00 m $
3.6 %
300 $
2007
978,000
277.00 m $
3.7 %
283 $
2006
891,000
249.00 m $
3.7 %
279 $
2005
804,000
206.00 m $
3.3 %
256 $
2004
735,000
192.00 m $
3.3 %
261 $
2003
646,000
160.00 m $
3.0 %
248 $
2002
579,000
135.00 m $
2.6 %
233 $
2001
584,000
135.00 m $
2.5 %
231 $
2000
581,000
129.00 m $
2.5 %
222 $
1999
530,000
128.00 m $
2.6 %
242 $
1998
483,000
103.00 m $
2.2 %
213 $
1997
453,000
82.00 m $
1.9 %
181 $
1996
388,000
55.00 m $
1.3 %
142 $
1995
341,000
51.00 m $
1.2 %
150 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
Quality of life 2023 in country comparison
Mega cities - the biggest cities all over the world
Debts an budget deficits in Germany