In a survey of more than 40 operators – 59% of which considered themselves to be Latin America specialists – more than 60% had experienced an increase in bookings to the region in 2016 compared with 2015, while 80% had seen year-on-year growth in the first quarter of this year.
The survey formed part of the Lata Travel Trends Report 2017, compiled by the Latin American Travel Association and presented at this month’s Experience Latin America event in London. In addition it included surveys of more than 3,600 UK consumers and 250 travel agents.
Despite the growth in bookings, when asked about reservation channels, more than 75% of operators said 81-100% of their sales were direct rather than via a travel agent. Lata vice-chair, Lyn Hughes, said that travel agents represented a big opportunity for the region.
The report identified cost and distance as the biggest deterrents to bookings to Latin America with 56% of the consumer respondents highlighting cost as the biggest obstacle and 27% citing distance. Of the operators surveyed, 47% said cost was the one thing that deterred clients while 33% of the agents said the journey was the factor that most put clients off booking.
Hughes said it was important to highlight that visitors do get a lot for their money when they get to the region.
Of the trips booked to Latin America via the operators, tailor-made trips were the most common while all-inclusive was the least common type of holiday booked.
Destinations showing the most growth over the last 12 months included Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, all of which are served by direct flights from the UK, while those showing the biggest decline were Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico.
