Reflecting on 2019, Stewart told TTG how Lata played a pivotal role restoring travel to Nicaragua earlier this year – “a case study”, said Stewart, for the value the association offers members and its burgeoning relationship with the Foreign Office (FCO).

Stewart’s confidence comes as Lata readies a major agent engagement programme, with Stewart freely acknowledging the association has, to date, failed to adequately promote the destination to the trade.

“Our research has identified a real need to engage agents,” he said. “Around 60% of the trade has very little knowledge of Latin America. Agents haven’t been key [to Lata] historically, but they will be moving forward.”

Next April, Lata will hit the road with six Latin American tourist boards, visiting London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow; a “huge opportunity“, said Stewart, for Lata to address agent knowledge and awareness.

In addition, Lata on Tuesday (10 December) launched the Lata Academy, a series of five Online Travel Training courses covering 24 Latin American countries. The teaching starts with fundamentals such as capital cities, languages, currencies and visa requirements.

“We felt we had to start at the top level,” said Stewart. “It’s the first stage of our strategy to target agents.

“When I took over as Lata chairman two years ago, one of the first things I realised was there was a big job to do raising the profile of Latin America and acknowledging we can do better. We believe we can be the voice of Latin America.

“We found the lack of knowledge of Latin America outside those already selling the destination quite startling. It’s the ammunition we needed to go out and engage agents.”

‘Nicaragua is open’

Of Lata’s more holistic role, Stewart said over the past three to five years, the association had sought to raise its profile “in the corridors of power”.

“We’ve been able to strengthen our ties with government and we now have a direct channel through to the FCO,” he said.

Stewart explained how in February, Lata worked with the FCO and ministers in Nicaragua to help the government make an informed decision on its travel restrictions – and eventually relax them. Lata quickly teamed up with tourism partners in Nicaragua to launch its “Nicaragua is open” campaign in the summer and organise a fam trip.

“It’s a real success story,” said Stewart. “Bookings were up 191% year-on-year in August, 222% in September and 277% in October. Forward bookings for November to April 2020 are up 110%. It’s a good case study for where Lata adds value.

“There’s not much we can do when the FCO issues a travel ban, but we can keep them informed and create a plan of action with our tourist boards. I really do think they [the FCO] value our input. We’re not there to change their mind, but we will support them as best we can. We just want to make sure they have all the information they need to hand.

“Latin America is no different to any other region in the world in terms of the challenges it faces; these destinations remain open for business, and are ready to receive tourists from the UK.”

In June, Lata hosted more than 150 exhibitors and 350 buyers at Experience Latin America.The three-day trade event (8-10 June 2020) will be rebranded Lata Expo, relocate to Battersea Evolution, and grow to accommodate 180 exhibitors.

Lata will also take the event to mainland Europe for the first time next year with two one-day sister events in Amsterdam (15 June) and Paris (17 June). Stewart said the decision followed demand from European buyers, adding each of the events had already attracted interest from 40-50 exhibitors.

New membership benefits, meanwhile, will include a strategic partnership with global air travel data analyst Forward Keys.

“One message we get loud and clear from members is the lack of data on what’s happening in the region,” said Stewart. Lata will make current and forward booking data from the partnership available to members as part of their membership.

Looking ahead to 2020, Stewart added Lata’s message was a positive one.

“We’ve seen real growth and investment in the region, passenger numbers have increased, as has capacity – there’s demand. We now have a real opportunity to put Latin America on the map for tour operators and travel agents.”