How's the economy in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?
Blue van Doorninck - Rancho Chilamate Horseback Adventures & Guest Ranch
I am pleased to report at this time that the economy of San Juan del Sur is holding it's own and in fact growing - especially in the tourism sector. In addition to a continued growth in visitors there has been an influx of persons moving here to live.. and not just retirees... but young families as well. New projects recently announced include a large condo development here in San Juan del Sur, and the new port to better handle the cruise ship passengers.
Definitely on...
I am pleased to report at this time that the economy of San Juan del Sur is holding it's own and in fact growing - especially in the tourism sector. In addition to a continued growth in visitors there has been an influx of persons moving here to live.. and not just retirees... but young families as well. New projects recently announced include a large condo development here in San Juan del Sur, and the new port to better handle the cruise ship passengers.
Definitely on the upswing here.
Blue
Posted April 29, 2014
Ray Jackson - Secret Cove
I first came to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 12 years ago when it was really a sleepy fishing village. I returned in 2004 for a lengthy visit and wound up living here since January 06. I lived through the real estate boom and the downturn when things went over the cliff in the US. I am not an economist and don't have the statistics on hand, but these are my considered impressions and observations about the economy in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Nicaraguans...
I first came to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua 12 years ago when it was really a sleepy fishing village. I returned in 2004 for a lengthy visit and wound up living here since January 06. I lived through the real estate boom and the downturn when things went over the cliff in the US. I am not an economist and don't have the statistics on hand, but these are my considered impressions and observations about the economy in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Nicaraguans are resourceful and hardworking, but there is still high unemployment.
When I ask my Nica [Nicaraguan] friends and business associates how are things they tell me, "Mas or menos [More or less] OK."
Business in San Juan is dependent on tourism and thus subject to the cyclical nature of that beast. Saying that, it sees to me as I sit on my new sidewalk in front of my B&B downtown on the a newly paved street with new water and sewer lines and electrical for the yet to be installed ornamental street lights, that everything is good.
The television series Survivor is here and last time they employed about 250 Nicas and brought in 250 Americans and Australians. That has an impact. The new port facility with its US $2.5 million price tag will certainly have an impact. The interest in San Juan has increased since it is close to the Pacific entry for the proposed canal, and San Juan is one of the premiere tourism destinations in Nicaragua. Everywhere resourceful people with a little capital open businesses and the housing market grows and grows.
I don't plan on going anywhere. As I said, it looks good. Prices are higher here than in Rivas or Managua but lower then Granada. The barometer is rising. Good sailing ahead.
When I ask my Nica [Nicaraguan] friends and business associates how are things they tell me, "Mas or menos [More or less] OK."
Business in San Juan is dependent on tourism and thus subject to the cyclical nature of that beast. Saying that, it sees to me as I sit on my new sidewalk in front of my B&B downtown on the a newly paved street with new water and sewer lines and electrical for the yet to be installed ornamental street lights, that everything is good.
The television series Survivor is here and last time they employed about 250 Nicas and brought in 250 Americans and Australians. That has an impact. The new port facility with its US $2.5 million price tag will certainly have an impact. The interest in San Juan has increased since it is close to the Pacific entry for the proposed canal, and San Juan is one of the premiere tourism destinations in Nicaragua. Everywhere resourceful people with a little capital open businesses and the housing market grows and grows.
I don't plan on going anywhere. As I said, it looks good. Prices are higher here than in Rivas or Managua but lower then Granada. The barometer is rising. Good sailing ahead.
Posted May 1, 2014
Natalie Sullivan
I can speak about the real estate market. When I first came here 8 ½ years ago, the real estate market was booming, but that was before the world economy crashed. As of now, things are really picking up again. We have increasing activity and increasing sales.
9 ½ years ago, there weren’t any banks in San Juan del Sur. 8 ½ years ago, there was one bank. Now, there are six banks here. One bank has two locations and one bank...
9 ½ years ago, there weren’t any banks in San Juan del Sur. 8 ½ years ago, there was one bank. Now, there are six banks here. One bank has two locations and one bank...
I can speak about the real estate market. When I first came here 8 ½ years ago, the real estate market was booming, but that was before the world economy crashed. As of now, things are really picking up again. We have increasing activity and increasing sales.
9 ½ years ago, there weren’t any banks in San Juan del Sur. 8 ½ years ago, there was one bank. Now, there are six banks here. One bank has two locations and one bank moved to a bigger location. You know things are going well if the banks are moving in and expanding.
9 ½ years ago, there weren’t any banks in San Juan del Sur. 8 ½ years ago, there was one bank. Now, there are six banks here. One bank has two locations and one bank moved to a bigger location. You know things are going well if the banks are moving in and expanding.
Posted July 2, 2014
Lance Moss - Surfari Charters
We just had our ISA (International Surfing Association) world championships as the first really big international contest here in Nicaragua in Popoyo, north of San Juan del Sur. During the event they came out with some statistics that showed that the biggest part of the gross domestic product right now in Nicaragua is tourism, which has displaced coffee, sugar, and all those kinds of things. The biggest center of tourism is surf tourism. In a sense...
We just had our ISA (International Surfing Association) world championships as the first really big international contest here in Nicaragua in Popoyo, north of San Juan del Sur. During the event they came out with some statistics that showed that the biggest part of the gross domestic product right now in Nicaragua is tourism, which has displaced coffee, sugar, and all those kinds of things. The biggest center of tourism is surf tourism. In a sense it’s almost like surfing is this a godsend in this Third World country that had very limited resources. Tourism is such a special thing for our country because the money trickles down through the whole economy and through all the people whereas for a plantation or something like that it doesn’t have that same trickledown effect. Here a local person can start a little restaurant or open up a couple of rooms and have people come through and stay with them and have a real inter-personal relationship between the locals through tourism. It’s a real special thing and something we’re really proud of now.
We’re proud to have been on the forefront of bringing this type of tourism to Nicaragua and helping to put this place on the map. In a sense, surfing is bringing more money to the country than basically anything else. So it’s pretty radical to think about that, in the beginning, we were just a bunch of guys going through the jungle, trying to find waves, and that has changed Nicaragua for the better. Now, suddenly, surfing is something the whole country can be proud of
Nicaragua has embraced surfing and now there’s a Nicaragua National Surf Team that just sent juniors to California to compete in the ISA junior championships. And then it just was announced that there’s a really good chance that surfing will be in the Olympics in 2020 so in 5 years we could be sending an Olympic team representing Nicaragua. In 1999 when I first came here, there might have been 5 surfers in the whole country and now there’s hundreds of thousands of local kids who have taken up surfing and that’s their life now. So it’s pretty neat.
(Surfing Magazine featuring a surfing safari in Nicaragua from Managua to Popoyo, pictured.)
Posted November 11, 2015
Julie Speier - San Juan del Sur Day School
Local employees in San Juan Del Sur know that they can depend on a certain income. Being a tourist town, the income ebbs and flows. There is a slower season and busy season but businesses have learned to predict and anticipate these changes. My business, which is a school, is thankfully pretty consistent. Children need to go to school year round. It does fluctuate a bit because of some families who move here and later on decide that San Juan Del Sur is not for them or their families. I...Local employees in San Juan Del Sur know that they can depend on a certain income. Being a tourist town, the income ebbs and flows. There is a slower season and busy season but businesses have learned to predict and anticipate these changes. My business, which is a school, is thankfully pretty consistent. Children need to go to school year round. It does fluctuate a bit because of some families who move here and later on decide that San Juan Del Sur is not for them or their families. I have some transitions but it seems to be steady now and growing. In general, I feel that the economy here is pretty stable. The economy in San Juan Del Sur is mostly tourism based. There is some farming of beans and coffee just outside of San Juan but the economy of San Juan, itself, is oriented more towards fishing and tourism although, fishing is not any longer really a big part of the economy of San Juan.
The construction industry in San Juan Del Sur is also growing. My husband is in the real estate business. He works with RE/MAX and he has a steady client base that is building homes, asking for builders, and there is a lot of new construction happening here.
(Super Space Trip Presentation at San Juan del Sur Day School, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)
Posted February 16, 2016
Zachary Lunin - Aurora Beachfront Realty
The economy is going great here in San Juan Del Sur. There is a huge construction boom going on in and around town. San Juan Del Sur has the highest cost of living of any town in Nicaragua. This is important for people who are coming from the outside to understand. Anything here in San Juan Del Sur is more expensive than in Managua and Leon. A pound of beans and a pound of rice and fruits and vegetables in the market cost more in San Juan Del Sur than in other places in Nicaragua. ...
The economy is going great here in San Juan Del Sur. There is a huge construction boom going on in and around town. San Juan Del Sur has the highest cost of living of any town in Nicaragua. This is important for people who are coming from the outside to understand. Anything here in San Juan Del Sur is more expensive than in Managua and Leon. A pound of beans and a pound of rice and fruits and vegetables in the market cost more in San Juan Del Sur than in other places in Nicaragua. The economy in San Juan Del Sur is tourism-based. A lot of the people here are tourists and a lot those tourists are national tourists, who come from other parts of Nicaragua to San Juan Del Sur to enjoy the beach or get away from life for a while. People tend to pay a little more for a plate of food in a tourist town than they would in their own town.
San Juan Del Sur has always been a thriving Nicaraguan town so there are a lot of people who spend time here. Most of the investment is tourism-based. The businesses that open here are tourism-based as well such as hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants and bars, etc. The tourism industry and the growth in tourism is very important for any investment and the investment decisions you would make here in San Juan Del Sur.
(Boat tour near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)
Posted February 20, 2016
David Smith - Nicaragua Sotheby's International Realty
The economy in San Juan del Sur is growing rapidly. It’s encouraging to see the new stores we have. Everywhere you see tin shacks being converted to concrete homes and stores. Beautification is happening everywhere on sidewalks. San Juan del Sur is growing and changing steadily. It’s not happening at an insane pace; it’s happening steadily, which is nice to see.
We’ve just had a $4.5 million...
The economy in San Juan del Sur is growing rapidly. It’s encouraging to see the new stores we have. Everywhere you see tin shacks being converted to concrete homes and stores. Beautification is happening everywhere on sidewalks. San Juan del Sur is growing and changing steadily. It’s not happening at an insane pace; it’s happening steadily, which is nice to see.
We’ve just had a $4.5 million investment into a new marina and port for where the cruise ships dock. They just finished it. It’s a park, there’s going to be new restaurants, etc. It’s very, very nicely designed and we can’t wait to go check that out. The economy continues to improve nicely.
The economy in San Juan del Sur based on or mostly on tourism and people in construction as the result of people moving in, and commercial fishing. The ocean is right here and so all the restaurants serve fresh fish every single day and there’s got to be a fishing industry to provide all the restaurants in San Juan del Sur. We have fresh fish every day and the fish market is a great place to go to every morning if you’re up early. You can get the catch as the fishermen bring them in.
(San Juan del Sur business district, San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)
Posted September 15, 2016