According to data from the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (Conred), The fire damaged eight homes, 14 shops and four hotels.
The area affected by said fire represents about 5% of the total services to the visitor offered by the destinationand is in recovery which progresses well, according to Edna Vásquez, councilor of the Municipality of Sipacate and a native of El Paredón.
The remaining 95% of the tourist services in the area were not affected, so fate is open to visitors.
“We are prepared to receive tourists, with gastronomy, restaurants, hotels and lodging establishments, as well as various activities that can be done in the place,” he added.
Among other activities there are surf classes, instructors are surfers are local and will help them a lot to have more demand, while prices vary and can be between Q150 to Q200 time, And hiring can be direct or through hotels within the activities they offer, he added.
In addition, in the surroundings they are the visits to the Nance pool where there is sighting of sea turtles, for this activity there are about five enclosures, and those sightings are part of the Tour, explained the mayor.
Activities
The wall is known as a surf, nature and adventure beach, And it is becoming one of the booming destinations in the country, but has mainly attracted foreign tourists.
There are also various activities to enjoy during stay, since you can find boutique hotels, cabins, glampings, different gastronomy.
Among other activities there is adventure flight (parasalling), boat mangrove tours, the Nance Turtle Tour
Also, turtles can be released, traveling the area by bicycle, knowing the center of the I can, take photographs, make yoga on the beach, but since the activities are scattered in the destination, it is recommended to use transport.
According to Inguat data, in 2022, around 35,300 foreign tourists arrived at El Paredón, By 2023 around 39 thousand were reported and in 2024 there were 42 thousand 116 with an average stay of 4 and 5 days.
The economic spill in 2022 and 2024 is around US $ 21 million annually, although in 2023, US $ 16.7 million was reported.
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- Entrepreneurs of the place announced that the lodging offer in 2024 was more than 30 hotels, hostels and vacation establishments. With approximate lodging capacity for more than 700 people. In addition to more than 50 units that are leaving for electronic lodging platforms, such as Airbnbs that has capacity for more than 300 people
- There are 25 establishments between restaurants and food services.
- 70% of tourists are foreign and 30% is local tourism.
How recovery progresses
Damaged business premises are already in reconstructionso they are expected to start attending, it was commented.
In the case of larger hotels that were affected or establishments for lodging, Vásquez said that according to knowledge they are in some procedures and it is expected that they then begin with the reconstruction process. At the moment, they will attend with the facilities that were not damaged and are enabled.
For example, they will not have the restaurant area but of lodging, while in another, the damages were in the lodging areas, Velásquez added.
Apart from private investment, people who have visited the wall as tourists, have provided donations, mainly from abroad, and with it some businesses are working on their reconstruction.
“With the help they received they managed to start making the ranches of a dining room,” Vásquez cited.
About three or four business stores could open for Holy Week, while some of the affected hotels will operate partially.
Several organizations have provided support, including the Municipality that supported Bloc, Cement, Iron.
Another fire
On the night of Wednesday, March 26, another fire was recorded on the wall.
This was around 11 at night and affected several ranches from a hotel one block from where the first fire was recorded, possibly originated from a short circuit, but Mitigar was managed, Vásquez said.
This establishment has been paying for the reconstruction of the surfing premises that burned on March 8, he said.
But he also mentioned that there is concern about vulnerability in that sectorreferring that the village electricity requires constant maintenance due to its proximity to the sea, in addition they do not have fire station and the fire was treated with a cistern of a family of the community and support of the inhabitants.
On the part of the government there was a visit from authorities of the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism (Inguat), Ministry of Economy, Conred and the departmental governor on March 14, who met with entrepreneurs, inhabitants of the community and municipal authorities of Sipacate.
Meanwhile, on Monday 24, Inguat announced a sustainable reconstruction plan on the wall, in which a territorial planning plan is also contemplated.
Meanwhile, March 26 and 27, Delegates from Conred and Inguat participated in meetings with municipal authorities.
Conred indicated that he leads the work for the elaboration of the recovery plan in the areas affected by the fire registered in the El Paredón village, Sipacate, Escuintla, developing inter -institutional meetings to coordinate and jointly carry out the necessary actions for the recovery of the community.
“The active participation of Inguat and the Municipality of Sipacate is key to ensure that the recovery plan contemplates both local needs and tourism, economic and social aspects affected by the emergency,” Conred added in a bulletin.
This work is done based on the National Recovery Framework, which establishes the principles and guidelines to guide the rehabilitation and reconstruction processes nationwide, and according to this the recovery plan is essential to guarantee a comprehensive and orderly response to disasters. The plan will be designed from damage evaluations and the needs identified in the affected territory, formulating proposals from both the local, municipal, departmental and national level.
According to the entity, these actions not only focus on the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, but also in strengthening local capacities and promoting the resilience of communities in the face of future risks.
In this regard, Vásquez mentioned that during the visit that these weeks made, Conred dedicated themselves to the collection of the data, but, According to the councilor, the community has not approached, then the meetings of March 14.