The Quetzal Quest

Monday, February 9, 2026

How to get more tourists to come to your port

If you have a boring old industrial port in an undeveloped country, try some of these things.

• Give the port a cute name.
• Build a terminal right next to the dock. 
• Do not force visitors to take a 30-minute bus or taxi ride to get to you.
• Have a welcome desk or tourist information center no more than 40 steps from the end of the dock.
• Give free maps of the area to visitors.
• Have local musicians and dancers performing in a central part of the terminal.
• Put out lots of benches and trash cans.
• Plant local plants all around the terminal.
• Be sure to have local artisans selling their goods.
• Don’t forget to have bars and restaurants.
• Make sure the terminal is kept clean.
• Have adequate signage and wayfinding. In addition to the local language, signage should be in English.
• Establish flat rates for taxis going to nearby attractions. Make sure these rates are posted prominently.
• Free wi-fi.
• Create an exciting, welcoming space.

First impressions really matter!

Puerto Quetzal

Today we visited a port that got it right. Like Acajutla yesterday, Puerot Quetzal, in Guatemala, is an industrial port that is not within walking distance of tourist destinations. It is a park-like enclave of 8 to 10 acres, surrounded by a large industrial port. Puerto Quetzal boasts a visitor center, a shopping area, a marina, a  restaurant, and lots of green space to walk around in. Women were demonstrating traditional weaving. A marimba band played. You could visit a free jade museum. Numerous vendors sold locally-made crafts. If you wanted more, you could take a tour beyond the port, organized by the ship (must be reserved in advance), or you could hire a taxi to drive you around to attractions outside the immediate port area. Puerto Quetzal isn’t perfect, and some would say it’s too artificial, but it’s clean and safe and convenient, and it feels like an earnest attempt on the part of local citizens to extend a welcome to visitors.

Outside the Jade Museum

Weaving on a backstrap loom

We even got to see wildlife

Listen to the beautiful marimba music (9 seconds):

Other ports we have visited on this trip with welcoming terminals include Cartagena, Colombia, and Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. Cartagena had a wonderful, free aviary inside the port. We, saw spectacular birds, sloths, monkeys, and tortoises. Amber Cove had a good-sized shopping village, a playground, a historical exhibit about John Glenn and Friendship 7, and lovely walking paths with waterfalls and tropical plants. 

I hope El Salvador can figure out how to up their game, as their neighbor, Guatemala has done.

We were quite content wandering around inside Puerto Quetzal today. I thought it was wonderful to see the weavers, and I even got to do a geocache.

Puerto Quetzal was bigger and busier than Acajutla. We counted over 40 large ships waiting to pick up cargo.

Mounds of coal are ready to be loaded onto a freighter

Distant haze almost obscures a large volcano looming over the region

Back Onboard

We had dinner at the Pinnacle Grill,  a steakhouse-style restaurant onboard. For an appetizer, we tried something called Clothesline Candied Bacon. It was awesome.

Dinner was followed by a stand-up comedian named Murray Valeriano. He was one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. HAL is keeping us entertained.

Today’s fabric is Quezal Party by ericarizzo for Spoonflower.