Martin Johnson, who has been vice-chair of Lata since 2012, replaces Colin Stewart, who steps down after six years in the role.
Johnson, a TTG 30 Under 30 alumni, co-founded Latin Routes and sister brand Polar Routes with fellow 30 Under30 alumni Jess Dennison, and is also chair of the recently formed Expedition Cruise Network.
Johnson said he wanted to make a direct appeal to all Latin America’s tourist boards. “For too long, a lot of the marketing investment in the UK has been too little, disjointed and/or complicated to access,” he said.
“The UK has some of the most passionate travellers and highest spenders in the world, but many simply do not understand the potential. Tourist boards have got a huge opportunity to tell the British public how amazing their destinations are and inspire them to visit.
“There are some powerful Lata tour operators and travel agents, ready to capitalise on that investment and significantly increase visitation. I urge these tourism boards to contact us at Lata to discuss their investment and strategy in the UK, and let us help make every single dollar, peso or real go as far as it possibly can.”
Johnson’s appointment, announced at the closing ceremony of Lata Expo on Wednesday (21 June), was voted for by the Lata committee representing the association’s 350-strong membership.
He said: “When I set up Latin Routes with my business partner in 2012, and later that year attended my first Lata event, I could only have dreamt of one day being able to call myself chair of such a fantastic organisation.
“While the pandemic is thankfully now a memory, its effects are still being felt across the Lata membership. I am committed to ensuring that, through a combination of growing the membership and creating opportunities for revenue generation, Lata will continue to secure a successful future.”
Johnson takes office amid predictions 2023 will be the year GDP and employment levels driven by travel and tourism exceed 2019 figures for the first time since the pandemic. He added he was “absolutely committed” to ensuring Lata helped members achieve sustainability aims while growing its membership.
“There are opportunities for us to widen our tour operator membership and significantly develop our travel agent membership, capitalising on the great work started with our agent roadshows this year,” he said.
Johnson said he would maintain his involvement in his two businesses.
“We have a senior management team now at Latin Routes and Polar Routes who are brilliant at what they do, and I think that has enabled me to take this on. I’m definitely not stepping down or pulling back from what we do. Jess and I have still got big plans for Latin Routes and Polar Routes.”
He also paid tribute to his predecessor: “Colin has transformed Lata in the last six years, taking it through the toughest time, and I’m excited to now take Lata to the next level – there are some exciting announcements to come.”
