Never thought of visiting Paraguay? Well, you might be soon. In our “Breakout Role” series, we take a look at places that have seen huge increases in tourism in the last few years, and try to figure out what’s causing all the hype.
In Paraguay, it isn’t just about the visitor—it’s about the host too. Paraguayans love to entertain guests, often inviting total strangers inside their homes for a friendly conversation and a glass of tereré, a cold, tea-like beverage first brewed by the country’s indigenous Guaraní tribes. The citizens of Paraguay are markedly joyful people—the country was ranked as the world’s happiest in 2014; and they want to share that joy with others by being as welcoming and friendly as they possibly can be.
“Even if they don’t have anything, they’re going to give you the little they have to make you feel welcome,” says Javier Caceres, a native Paraguayan who owns a hostel in Asunción, the nation’s capital. “They will give you your bed and they will sleep on the floor or the couch—as long as you are comfortable.”
The outside world seems to be catching on to this friendliness too. After years of stagnation, Paraguay’s number of total yearly visitors has been steadily rising 2008. Last year, the change became more drastic, and in 2015 Paraguay saw 94% more tourists than it had in 2014, essentially doubling its yearly visitors in a single year.
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Photo: Laura Cuttier, CC-BY
For the most part, Paraguay missed out on South America’s tourism boom. According to The World Bank, international tourism nearly doubled in Brazil, Argentina and Chile—the continent’s most visited countries—from 1996 to 2006. During that time, Paraguay was still reeling from the aftermath of nearly two centuries of authoritarian, often military-run governments.
After General Alfredo Stroessner’s military regime ended in 1989, the country’s economic growth took about 15 years to really kick in. By the mid-2000s, Paraguay was becoming stable and safe enough to support a tourism industry, and meanwhile its prices remained highly inexpensive for foreign visitors.
Additionally, the recent surge in the number of young global travelers has brought a number of new visitors to the country, with these younger tourists getting a taste of Paraguayan culture as they pass through on the way to more popular South American destinations, such as Bolivia to the east and Iguazu Falls to the west.
“I had two guys from France who came [to my hostel] for one night and they ended up staying for 10 months,” Caceres says. “You can see that [people] really enjoy Paraguay after not knowing what to expect.”
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