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Thought there might be some interest in this article:

'Today Show' to Perk Image Makeover

By Tim Rogers Nica Times Staff trogers@ticotimes.net

SAN JUAN DEL SUR - If the post-war transformation of Nicaragua's international image were depicted by the famous drawing of ape evolving to man, next Wednesday would mark the day the country moves from the hairy simian-man carrying the club to the upright hunter holding a spear.

It's still about two figures removed from what today would be recognized as modern-day man, but it's a major improvement over the knuckle-dragging ape-man who fears the sun.

The catalyst for the evolutionary leap in the country's international image - especially in the United States, where an incredible percentage of people are still misinformed about Nicaragua - will be thanks to a three- or four-minute segment on NBC TV's "The Today Show" scheduled to air March 15, featuring Nicaragua and Costa Rica as new hotspots for U.S. retirees moving "south of the border."

The segment, featuring footage and interviews shot Feb. 27 in San Juan del Sur and Granada, will reach the homes of 12 million viewers, more than half of whom live in the United States. That's a large market share of mainstream Gringos, many of whom undoubtedly fit into the category of folk who still ask: " Nicaragua !? Isn't there, like, a war there, or something?"

Not only is there no war here, but Nicaragua is now flirting with the possibility of becoming trendy.

Image Makeover: Mark Mullin of NBC TV's 'The Today Show' films a segment in Granada on Nicaragua becoming a new hotspot for U.S. expats retiring 'south of the border.' The show, which is scheduled to air the morning of March 15, is the latest in a series of reports that is helping to change Nicaragua 's image abroad. Tim Rogers | Nica Times

After a decade of war correspondence in the 1980s, Nicaragua in the 1990s was virtually abandoned by the mainstream international press, who were relocated elsewhere or left on their own to chase the next story. Subsequently, Nicaragua virtually went "off the air" for the next 15 years, making occasional cameo appearances in the international press for coverage of political-corruption scandals, natural disasters and elections featuring Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega's attempt to return to power.

In the last year, however, Nicaragua 's treatment in the international press has changed, and the country has been increasingly portrayed as an exotic surf destination, a retirement up-and-comer, and an investment hotspot.

High-profile stories in The New York Times, Miami Herald, GQ Magazine, USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, and Conde Nast Traveller have all helped to paint a new image of the country. And the first week of March a delegation of U.S. journalists visited the country for upcoming travel reports in Sport Diver Magazine, Islands Magazine, American Way Magazine, National Geographic Traveller, Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine and Travel Age West.

"Slowly the word is getting out and more and more people living in the United States are starting to see that the Nicaragua of today is much different than the Nicaragua of 25 years ago," María Nelly Rivas, executive president of the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (INTUR), told The Nica Times this week. " Nicaragua is a safe and beautiful destination; and it's close to the United States both geographically and culturally. Americans feel comfortable in Nicaragua."

There are no statistics for the number of foreign retirees living here, since many remain on a tourism visa while others who have purchased land here are still in the process of moving down fulltime. Of the foreign retirees who have actually gotten residency status here - of which there are around 1,000 - some 65% are from the United States, according to Rivas.

"More and more retirees are finding Nicaragua attractive because of the incentives, the price of land, the cost of living and the safety," Rivas said, in flawless English. "Plus, there is already a community of retirees living here, so people moving down from the United States won't have to do it alone."

Rivas also claims that Nicaragua 's infrastructure and services - including the new state-of-the-art Vivian Pellas Hospital in Managua - make the country competitive with other Central American retirement destinations.

Leading investment consultant Raul Calvet also sees a positive trend in the evolution of Nicaragua 's image abroad.

"There has been a real awakening in the last two years," Calvet said.

Nicaragua, he said, has benefited greatly from a combination of sky-rocketing real-estate prices in the United States and a maturation of Nicaragua 's image abroad.

"We have moved past the stage of people asking if there is a war here. Now investors are interested in infrastructure and conditions for a rate of return on their investments," Calvet said.

While the country still has a way to go before becoming a full-blown, mainstream retirement or tourist destination, most economic indicators suggest that great strides have been made in recent years.

And mainstream programs like The Today Show, which reaches millions of Maxwell House-drinking U.S. citizens in their kitchens and living-room sofas, will only increase Nicaragua 's visibility and help hasten the positive shift in public opinion.