Tourism in Venezuela loses out to oil economy

Despite its stunning beaches, lush jungle and the Andean mountains, few tourists visit Venezuela. Why?

Girish Gupta

Few backpackers venture up Venezuela’s Andes in Mérida, yet, with a stunning mountain range allowing treks, paragliding, mountain-biking and countless other activities, it could be one of the busiest spots for tourists on the continent.

Just a couple of hours from the country’s capital Caracas are some of the world’s most luxurious beaches, both on the mainland and on islands dotted in the Caribbean nearby.

Venezuela's interior offers the Amazon jungle with the world’s highest waterfall, Angel Falls.

“It’s a beautiful country,” saysCaracas-based travel agent Renée Castro. “We have mountains; we have beaches; we have deserts. We have forests. We have the Llanos, which is like the prairies. We have everything!”

Yet, Venezuela also has one of the world’s highest crime rates.

“Open the travel warnings from any European country like Germany, England or France,” added José Luis Troconis who runs the Casa Sol Posada hotel in Mérida as well as the Natoura tour agency. “If you read that you might not travel.”

Venezuela also lacks infrastructure. “First we have to offer tourists more security,” said Castro. “We have to make some improvements on the hotels like the guesthouses and that sort of thing.”

Venezuela has the largest reserves of oil in the world and the government has failed to invest in infrastructure and tourism because of the one-dimensional economy that has given rise to, its critics say.

“It’s so easy to produce money with oil,” said Troconis. “It’s a pity.”

While oil prices are high, the struggling post-Hugo Chavez government is unlikely to step away from what some critics here call the devil’s excrement. If it does, it will still take years to clean up the country’s reputation and tempt tourists to enjoy the wonders it has to offer.