Cover photo: Presidency of El Salvador - Special coverage presented by Surf City El Salvador y Pure Surf

The realization of the six-star ALAS prime and the International Surfing Association world championship cost El Salvador 300.000 dollars, reported the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez, in a press conference held today in El Tunco, where the final stage of the Latin tour will take place starting tomorrow.

Valdez explained that sports tourism “is not free” but is compensated by the income generated by visitors. He explained that it has been proven that when “a wave develops”, the economy in its surroundings grows by 3%. “We are investing around 300.000 dollars in the two tournaments and everything else is an inter-institutional work that is being done.”

The minister also explained that private companies are also supporting and sponsoring the aforementioned championships.

For his part, the president of ALAS, Karín Sierralta, referred to this by making a comparison. He said that a country that spent three million dollars on a single Super Bowl advertisement, while a tournament like this one and the ISA will provide more than eight million dollars in media returns.

Finally, the other member of the three-person panel, Yamil Bukele, stressed the importance of “what cannot be quantified.” “This fills you with hope, motivation, and joy; when we see the waves, that will give you a sense of patriotism (…) And when our athletes get on the board, ride the best waves, God willing, we will be champions and we will win the medals, they will feel completely satisfied to be Salvadorans and the next day and during all these days we will even be talking about El Salvador,” he said.

“When we put on the El Salvador jersey and when we talk about sports, those of us who do so truly know what we feel and what we are passionate about. For me, that is what ultimately counts and makes us proud to feel Salvadoran, and in the end, that is what will truly position us on a global level, that we are much more, much more solid and stronger if we stay united,” Bukele said, being applauded by a room full of press and people related to the tournament.

The event will start tomorrow, but the organizers referred to “a big problem” which is that they are likely to exceed the 200 registered participants in all categories, which could force the event to end on Sunday or to hold marathon sessions from Wednesday to Saturday.