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Ten or 20 years ago, mentions of countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala conjured up visions of soldiers and civil war. But today, Central America has become a tourism hot spot. The isthmus between Mexico and Colombia is better known for its culture and wildlife than its war-torn past. And tourism revenue has surpassed that of most local industries.

Now, regional officials are trying to encourage visitors to experience the region the way Canadians and Americans have long travelled in Europe — by taking in several countries in one trip.

About 20 companies in Europe, mostly Italy, Spain and Britain, already promote tours of Central America that include visits to multiple countries. And Air Costa Rica and Air Panama are trying to capitalize on the trend by opening new routes between the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and two popular destinations in Panama.

Promoting regional tourism is seen as a way of improving other aspects of life in Central America, from the economy to law enforcement to health and education.

"Tourism is the passport to peace," said Sara Sanchez, Panama's Tourism Minister.

The number of visitors going to Central America has spiked notably in the past two years. In 2004, about 5.7 million people visited the region and spent more than $4.5-billion, up 14 per cent from 2003.

Preliminary data indicates that about 6.5 million tourists — mostly from the United States, Mexico and Canada — visited Central America last year.

Still, Marcos Gandasegui, whose Ancon Expedition travel agency specializes in nature tours, said the growing industry has forced countries to focus on tourism and related projects, like strengthening infrastructure, health and education in their countries.

One thing the region doesn't need to develop is its natural resources: pristine beaches, coral reefs, about 900,000 different species of plants and animals, and rich and varied cultures fed by the countries' native Indian heritage, European colonialism and coastal settlements.

For El Salvador and Guatemala, two countries that survived years of civil conflict, tourism has become the countries' second-largest source of income, after money sent home by migrants living in the United States. Last year, 13 years after peace accords ended that country's civil war, 1.1 million people visited El Salvador and spent $644-million. In Guatemala, where the civil war ended in 1996, 1.3 million tourists visited, spending $868-million.

Panama has also worked to build up its tourism industry, converting many of the former U.S. installations turned over with the canal hand-over in 1999 into restaurants, resorts and even an upscale cruise ship-docking station. The country has been so successful that tourism revenues have risen to $860-million, surpassed only by revenues from the Panama Canal.

Nicaragua and Honduras have the smallest number of tourists, with 700,000 and 800,000 annual visitors respectively. But both countries rely heavily on tourism dollars, with Nicaragua seeing $190-million from visitors and Honduras with $500-million annually. Associated Press