Data
El Salvador tourism statistics
Monthly and annual visitor arrivals to El Salvador, compiled from Ministry of Tourism figures, with the Surf City effect visible from 2021.
International visitors, 2025
3.9m
Measured in visitors. Updated monthly.
Last checked · updated monthly
| Year | Visitors | YoY change | Tourism USD bn |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2530000 | +8.4% | 1.62 |
| 2020 | 890000 | -64.8% | 0.51 |
| 2021 | 1350000 | +51.7% | 0.88 |
| 2022 | 2470000 | +83.0% | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 3130000 | +26.7% | 2.35 |
| 2024 | 3680000 | +17.6% | 2.71 |
| 2025 | 3900000 | +6.0% | 2.94 |
Visitor numbers have more than doubled since the 2020 trough and are comfortably above the pre-pandemic peak, driven by three things: the collapse in the homicide rate, the Surf City infrastructure programme, and a large volume of diaspora travel that the statistics count alongside conventional tourism.
The diaspora caveat
A substantial share of arrivals are Salvadorans resident abroad visiting family. They are counted as international visitors and they behave nothing like leisure tourists — they stay longer, spend differently, and cluster around December and Semana Santa.
Where the growth is
Surf tourism on the La Libertad coast, the volcano circuit around Santa Ana, and a rising share of long-stay remote workers. The Ruta de las Flores has grown fastest in percentage terms from a small base.
Source: Ministerio de Turismo (MITUR). Official page. Compiled by AH El Salvador and last checked September 1, 2026. Free to reproduce with a link.