Top 5 places to visit in Guatemala

Dani and Jessica come up with the Top 5 places to visit in Guatemala at Hostelbookers.com.

1. Antigua
2. Lake Atitlan
3. Tikal
4. Flores
5. Chichicastenango

Nothing surprising on the list except separating Tikal and Flores since I imagine most people combine these two on a trip to the Peten.

Update: I meant to link to Danilo Valladares' article on Alternative Tourism Seeks to Overcome Obstacles that appeared on IPS last week as well. The article discusses efforts to develop rural tourism in Central America as well as some problems that have prevented the region from becoming a prime tourist destination.

According to a study by the World Economic Forum, Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica are at the top of the region's rankings while El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are near the bottom.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) this month, says there are two distinct realities in Central America in terms of tourism development. While El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are in the last places in the ranking in Latin America, Costa Rica and Panama are at the head of the region.

Guatemala is ranked 86th, out of the 139 countries included in the report, followed by Honduras (88), El Salvador (96) and Nicaragua (100).

Of this group, Nicaragua moved up eight spots and El Salvador two, from the last ranking by the Switzerland-based WEF. But Honduras fell nine places, and Guatemala dropped back 13.

Costa Rica, on the other hand, is ranked second in Latin America and 44th overall, while Panama is fourth in the region and in 56th place overall.

The top-ranking Latin American country is Mexico, which is 43rd overall, and Brazil is third in the region and 52nd overall.

It's really a shame as the region has so much to offer.