TORONTO — More Canadians, more Americans, more Europeans – they’re all discovering Guatemala, and for this Central American gem, the attention is long overdue.
“I don’t like to say that Guatemala is having a moment, because that suggests it’s something temporary. I like to say that Guatemala is coming into its own as a destination,” said Harris Whitbeck, Minister of Tourism, during a Travelweek interview at last night’s Guatemala event at W Toronto.
The influx is thanks in no small part to Air Canada’s expanded service to Guatemala.
Air Canada’s brand new weekly nonstop service from Toronto to Guatemala City (GUA) starts Dec. 1 on A330-300s. The Tuesday flights depart YYZ at 6:15 p.m. and arriving in GUA at 10:30 p.m. On the return leg, flights leave GUA at 10:30 a.m., arriving back in Toronto at 4:30 p.m. Last month Air Canada announced that the Toronto flights will operate year-round.
The new YYZ flights come just over a year after Air Canada launched GUA service out of Montreal, which has since expanded from seasonal to year-round, with three weekly flights starting this October. ACV has packages to Guatemala too.
With good word on advance load factors for Air Canada’s new and expanded service, Whitbeck said the flights mean more Canadians to Guatemala, and more Europeans and Americans too, as many use Air Canada’s hubs for onward connections. Whitbeck said Guatemala has seen a 14% increase in European arrivals, and a 20% increase in Canadian visitors, since the YUL-GUA flights launched in October 2025.
Harris Whitbeck, Guatemala’s Minister of Tourism
YEAR-ROUND POTENTIAL FOR GUA-YYZ?
Air Canada’s Shabnam Esfahani, Manager, Specialty Sales, told Travelweek that bookings for the YYZ-GUA flights “are looking very promising,” and added that the new service to Guatemala City from both Toronto and Montreal is part of Air Canada’s broader focus on Latin America.
Whitbeck is clearly thrilled with the new Air Canada flights. “There have been efforts to bring Air Canada into Guatemala for at least the last seven years,” he told Travelweek.
The timing now is perfect. “We’re benefiting from the changes in the Canadian market, and we’ve also seen that Canadians are looking for destinations beyond the U.S.”
HEART OF THE MAYAN EMPIRE
Last night’s event, hosted by the Guatemala Tourism Board (INGUAT) in collaboration with Air Canada, brought more than 70 media and travel industry professionals to W Toronto, to hear about not just the lift, but also Guatemala’s tourism experiences.
Most famously, Guatemala is home to volcanoes – 37 to be precise. The beautiful city of Antigua with its Spanish colonial buildings works well as a base. Lake Atitlan is famously surrounded by three volcanoes, and charming towns. And of course, Tikal National Park, with its ancient ruins, receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Guatemala was the heart of the Mayan Empire. “You can come into contact with 3,000 years of history at the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, and then have direct contact with the descendants of the Maya and learn from them,” said Whitbeck. “You can learn about their textile traditions, spirituality, astronomy and so much more. It’s a very rich destination in that sense.”
CANADA GOALS: 22% INCREASE FOR 2027
Air Canada’s Shabnam Esfahani, Manager, Specialty Sales
Not surprisingly, Guatemala is a magnet for adventure travel, popular for volcano trekking, whitewater rafting and surfing at prices that don’t blow the budget. Great gastronomy, culture, jungles and more round out the offering.
Attendees at last night’s event heard about a major tourism development, El Camino del Tiempo, an expansive hiking trail project inspired by Spain’s Camino de Santiago. Developed around the Quiché region, the initiative aims to connect indigenous communities through a network of hiking trails, inviting visitors to discover sacred Mayan sites, ancestral traditions, spiritual heritage and 16th-century colonial churches.
Whitbeck said Guatemala is aiming for 49,300 Canadian visitors for 2026, with a 22% increase for 2027, landing at a projected 60,000.
It’s not just Canada that’s coming to Guatemala. Since 2024 more than a dozen new air routes have come online, including new connections to U.S. cities and increased frequencies from U.S. gateways. Whitbeck said a couple of new direct routes from Europe are on the way too.
MULTI-DESTINATION VACATIONS
We asked Whitbeck about hotels and resorts. “Guatemala isn’t really an all-inclusive destination,” he noted, adding that the country’s wide range of cultural and natural diversity tends to attract a different type of traveller. “There’s nothing wrong with all-inclusive vacations, but the authenticity of our tourism products, and the involvement and engagement of local Indigenous communities in tourism, allow us to create experiences that can’t always be enjoyed at an all-inclusive resort.”
And what about multi-destination holidays? “To me, Guatemala complements the beautiful beach destinations offered by our neighbours,” said Whitbeck. “Costa Rica, Belize and the Dominican Republic have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We complement that with our cultural diversity.”
He said he’s open to co-marketing Guatemala as part of a multi-destination vacation. “We’ve had many conversations with the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Belize about doing that. If we can work together to market ourselves as a multi-destination experience, there’s a real opportunity. It’s already happening – we receive many tourists who travel to El Salvador first to go surfing and then come into Guatemala.”
Whitbeck’s message to the trade: “I would encourage Canadian travel advisors to get to know Guatemala and discover why it’s so different from other destinations in the region.”
For more on Guatemala tourism head to VisitGuatemala.gt.
Lead image caption: Harris Whitbeck, Guatemala’s Minister of Tourism, showcases El Camino del Tiempo, an expansive hiking trail project inspired by Spain’s Camino de Santiago, for attendees at last night’s Guatemala event at W Toronto
Acatenango Volcano trek
