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Market Knowledge
UP-AND-COMING DESTINATIONS
Central America is seeing growth – 10 UK
operators attended this year’s Central America
Travel Market in Nicaragua in October, to meet
exhibitors from the region’s seven countries.
Exodus product manager Dan Cockburn says:
“Central America is growing strongly, especially
Costa Rica and our wildlife focused trip. We also
have two new trips that travel from Guatemala
right down through Costa Rica and Nicaragua
to Panama.”
Bales Worldwide adds El Salvador for 2009, as
part of its Mayan World itinerary, plus a tour
called Gran Colombia Revisited, which covers the
19th-century republic that included Colombia,
Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. More operators
are featuring Colombia now stability has returned
to tourist areas, and its tourist board Pro Export
supports them strongly.
Neighbouring Venezuela and Guyana are also
seeing more interest. Cox & Kings has introduced
Venezuela, and product manager Vessela Baleva
says: “It offers some of the most beautiful,
unexplored scenery in the entire continent.
“Our new discovery tour of South America show-
cases the breadth of what we can offer from super
luxury in Chile and Brazil, to more adventurous
tours in Guyana, Bolivia and now Venezuela.”
Guyana has been boosted by the BBC TV nature
programme Lost World of the Jaguar, and is
introduced by South American Experience.
They could hardly be described as Latin, but
the Falkland Islands are expecting an increase in
cruise passengers – many British – during the
October to April season. Bales is also introducing
the Falkland Islands as a seven-night extension to
a Chile itinerary.
SOFT ADVENTURE
Soft adventure is the biggest growth area, with
major operators such as Sunvil focusing on this
alongside adventure specialists – an increasing
number of whom want to sell through agents.
UK arrivals to
Lloyd Boutcher is director of Sunvil’s new brand
for 2009: Sunvil Traveller – Real Latin America.
Latin America
He says: “Agents don’t associate Sunvil with this
but we have been doing exotic long-haul holidays
for 12 years. We are soft adventure bespoke
Breakdown of arrivals in specialists who delve deep into real Latin America
Main and inset: 2007, by country with its culture, traditions, people and history.”
rustic luxury at The Galapagos Safari Camp is one of Sunvil’s
Orient-Express’s Las Argentina: 55,217 new offers for 2009, with nine luxury tents
Casitas de Colca, Peru Belize: 10,000 overlooking the Pacific.
Bolivia: 22,650 (in 2006) Explore product manager Jason Beevis says:
Brazil: 177,000 “Costa Rica is famed for its activities as you can
Chile: 64,023 hike, ride horses, corral cattle, zip-wire through
Colombia: 18,788 jungle, white-water raft, snorkel, surf and kayak.
Costa Rica: 37,176 “Patagonia and the Chilean fjords are rightly
Ecuador: 26,848 recognised for hiking, but Peru is the main
El Salvador: 2,129 adventure destination.”
Guatemala: 18,561 Bales is introducing mountain lodges in Peru
Honduras: 8,607 (“Machu Picchu without camping”) and an Active
Mexico: 259,107 Chile tour based at a new eco-camp in Torres del
Nicaragua: 6,486 Paine national park.
Panama: 9,399 Soft adventure is a crowded sector with other
Peru: 66,488 operators including Journey Latin America, Tucan
Uruguay: 13,310 Travel, TrekAmerica, On the Go and The
Adventure Company.
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TTG Knowledge LATIN AMERICA November 2008
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