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Venezuela Tourism
Tourism was a rather minor and undeveloped industry in
Venezuela. In the 1970s, the government targeted domestic
vacationers to some extent, but by the late 1980s
promotion of
tourism focused on the potential foreign exchange revenues
of
international visitors. The Venezuelan Tourism Corporation
spurred tourist infrastructural development with
concessionary
financing and international promotional efforts.
Tourist arrivals fluctuated widely in the 1970s and
1980s,
mainly in line with prevailing exchange rate policies. For
example, as the bolívar appreciated vis-ŕ-vis the United
States
dollar prior to the 1983 devaluations, tourist arrivals
declined,
but arrivals more than doubled from 1984 to 1986. In 1988
an
estimated 336,541 tourists visited Venezuela, generating
upwards
of US$200 million in revenue. The 1989 riots, however,
were
expected to hurt arrivals in the short run. Approximately
99
percent of all foreign tourists came from the Western
Hemisphere
or Europe. United States citizens entered with only a
tourist
card, obtainable on the flight to Venezuela. Cruise ships
also
visited several ports. In the late 1980s, nearly 2,000
lodging
facilities offered 60,000 guest rooms. The peak tourism
months
were July, August, December, and January.
Data as of December 1990
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