For many middle-class travelers, it was the gateway to the Caribbean. A destination chosen by many Argentines in the 1990s and 2000s, today it wanders between oblivion and several failed attempts to revive it.
The time elapsed makes us unaware of the current state of Venezuela’s Margarita Island. Of its hotels, inns and services. Of its existence. Of its relevance within a tourist map that today does not include it among the options of the Caribbean.
The years of furor are long gone. Many Argentines visited the island, especially in the 2000s.
Laura, sales manager of a wholesale operator, remembers: “There was a lot of sales, It was especially requested by passengers who made a large financial effort to visit the Caribbean.“.
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With fares between 1,000 and 1,200 dollars, the trip to Margarita Island included airfare flying with Aerolíneas to Caracas and from there with Conviasa to the Island. The main tourist packages included Margarita Island and the Coche Islandlocated in the south, known for its crystal-clear waters and wide variety of water activities.
Basic 3 and 4 star hotels and an All Inclusive Inclusive “full board” package. It included transfers and travel assistance. A price that was much lower than those offered by Punta Cana and Mexico with Cancun or Playa del Carmen. It stood out for its excellent service and the beauty of its beaches.
Chronicle of a death foretold
In 2015, Venezuela broke relations with the Colombians who brought a good amount of tourism to the destination. There were three weekly flights from Cali and Bogotá. The destination slowly faded away. In the resorts, essential items such as towels or toilet paper began to be scarce. The recurring lack of water and continuous power cuts foreshadowed the worst. Until the pandemic arrived, and then a strong political polarization between supporters of Nicolas Maduro and the opposition. This, together with the restriction of fuel and supplies, caused the destination to disappear from the tourism orbit.
The (failed) attempts to refloat it
Since 2022, Venezuelans have been trying to position Margarita in the place it should never have left. They say that there were contributions from the private sector and the State, and that is why they have remodeled hotels and routes. Some Russian tourists are arriving and Polish travelers are expected. In the best times, 50% of tourism came from Europe and the difficulties reduced the influx of visitors from that continent to 4%.
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It is worth remembering that both Venezuela and, to a lesser extent, Cuba lose millions of dollars in tourism revenue and thousands of jobs. Just to give an example, if 1% of Americans (about 4 million people) visited these islands today, it would be impossible to accommodate them due to the lack of infrastructure in hotels, flights, airports, roads, transportation and supplies.
Operators say there is a new effort by locals to attract Argentines to the island. Training sessions and presentations by hoteliers and travel agents are being held, where they present the improvements in their establishments and they expect the prompt reopening of flights to Caracas from Panama and the Dominican Republic, which were “suspended” in rejection of the interventionist actions of these countries regarding the Venezuelan presidential elections.
With this outlook, the possibilities of returning to the Caribbean pearl are back to square one and the destination is once again politically restricted while waiting for better times.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
