In a survey of 1,001 consumers conducted by TTG on behalf of the Latin American Travel Association, the overwhelming majority of consumers did express an interest in holidaying in the region (95%) with only 51 saying they had no interest.
Of those uninterested in holidaying there, less than 2% cited health concerns as something that puts them off, 2% listed cost and 2% listed distance, while 50% said they simply had no interest in visiting Latin America.
The survey formed part of the LATA Travel Trends Report 2016, compiled by TTG and Lata for this week’s Experience Latin America (ELA) event. Overall it highlights that awareness of Latin America’s diversity appears to be lacking across the board.
Surveyed consumers said they consider Europe and the USA to be more appealing than Latin America for history and culture while the Caribbean and Indian Ocean were rated as more appealing for beaches.
Looking ahead, consumers said that within Latin America they would most like to visit Brazil, with 404 respondents saying they would like to travel there, Mexico followed in second place with 384, Cuba in third with 318 and Costa Rica fourth with 255.
Tour operators surveyed in the report tipped Cuba and Costa Rica to have the biggest potential for growth in Latin America in the next 12 months primarily due to the relaxing of border restrictions with the US in the case of Cuba and new airlift for Costa Rica. In the longer term, they predicted Nicaragua and Colombia to be set for growth in the next five years.
