Latin America is in fashion

Inhabitants from continents other than Latin America are increasingly seeing in this region a paradise full of riches in every corner and in all areas. It is not for nothing that the current economic crisis has not cracked the economy of their countries and this is thanks, in part, to tourism.

To ask about the number of people arriving, passing through or staying in Latin America is to prepare oneself for a storm of good prospects, of presents that augur positive futures, it is to prepare one's ears to find words like growth, development and solidity.

Tourism in the global context grew by 5% in 2011, reaching 940 million traveler arrivals, according to figures from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), but that same year Suramerica was the big surprise and, although many suspected the evolution, few expected such a number: 15% growth was the news that filled the region with optimism.

Much of the credit for this positive reflection goes to the change of image in the area of security perception with which the countries of the continent have renewed themselves today, the most concrete case being that of Colombia, which even risked changing its country motto to "The risk is that you want to stay", trusting in its new situation.


This country, which for years had to bear the shadow of violence, crime and drug trafficking, has made great efforts and investments to look better to the world.



As a result, it has gone from 400.The UNWTO study indicated that more than two million tourists arrived in Colombia in 2011, up from 400,000 visitors in the year 2000.

Safe zone
This situation has been successfully replicated in the countries of the region, causing nations of vital incidence in the continent to achieve, for its territory, world-class events that promise to fill their streets of neighboring and distant tourists, this is the case of Brazil.

In 2014, the largest country in Latin America will host the Soccer World Cup and in 2016 the Olympic Games will take place in Río de Janeiro, two great prizes for the Brazilian economy.

There, security has also hindered the steady development of tourism, although, according to Marcelo Pedrozo, director of International Markets at the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), according to surveys conducted by the Institute, the Brazilian tourism industry has been growing at an alarming rate;According to surveys conducted by the Institute at the country's airports to incoming and outgoing tourists, "security is not mentioned as a problem for them", as is the case with language or infrastructure.

In Brazil, tourism generates 3% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2010, for example, the samba country received more than 5,200,000 foreigners. A similar case is experienced in Mexico, where tourism is the third largest source of foreign currency income, generating 9% of its GDP, even taking into account the security situation in that country in 2011.

Therefore, it is worth clarifying that security is not an issue that has been completely overcome. Although efforts are evident and productive in the change of perception and in the way the region is now seen from the outside, this factor is not the only one that reveals the good moment in the tourism context in Latin America.

"The crisis strengthens us

Some experts believe that the hard times in Europe and the United States due to the economic crisis is what has strengthened Latin America's economy.

According to Oscar García, founder and director of the Forum Business Travel de España, “Europe is suffering a very difficult economic situation;



This means that Latin America is that favorable space for business, "the area is experiencing a growth that does not occur in other regions, and for that same development there is a need for infrastructure to support this economic growth, consequently this generates business opportunities for many companies", clarifies García.



For Fernando Pablo Montes, president of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Chapter Argentina, "it is evident the implantation of many global companies in the region and the bet and investment that is being made in our market; therefore, this generates an important movement of business passengers. At the same time, the companies located in the area are working and managing very regionally, which also generates an interregional traffic.

On the other hand, and speaking already on the subject of vacation tourism, Montes considers that the cause is the evolution of the region is different: “Most European passengers, where their countries had good economiesías in other é few, have already traveled different latitudes, hence í that destinations in America that are presented novel either by knowledge of cultures or geographical attractions unrepeatable in other parts of the planet, perhaps those are the destinations that are fashionable ”.

Variety is the advantage

Another advantage mentioned by our guests is language. The FBT representative explains that the use of a common language, although each country has its own particularities, makes it easier to develop business, since it is an area with a lower language barrier.

The diversity of cultures, accents, politics, laws, customs, geography, climates, among a variety of other factors, can be seen as a tourist advantage, but can also represent an obstacle when it comes to unifying the region towards a common purpose.

These differences become strengths when a multicolored menu is extended to a consumer of destinations: Costa Rica with its adventure, Cancún with its lush beaches, The Andean region with its cultures and history, México which has strengthened medical and business tourism, Colombia as a venue for important meetings, Argentina increasingly solidifying the LGBT segment, Perú with its renowned gastronomyía, Ecuador as a venue for culture.

Each country specializes in a particular service without neglecting its ability to offer a little bit of everything else. Because it has it, it has the natural and social resources to do so, to offer a complete package and at the same time complementary to its neighbors.

But also, that same variety becomes complex when trying to analyze the parts as a whole: “Talking about Latin America as a whole is complicated, since the reality of all countries is very different. There is human material to grow and the scenarios have already been given to us by nature. It depends only on us to grow”, says Montes.

In the corporate market, a sign that indicates a change of trend is the strong appearance of GBTA in the opening of each of its chapters, "that an organization of the size and importance of the company has a strong presence in the market;The fact that an organization of the size and importance of GBTA has its eyes on the region is an irrefutable proof that the material to make this region a tourism power exists," said Montes.

There are many testimonies of Latin Americans who, for different reasons, go to European, Asian or North American countries and return to their country telling the same story: that of a Spaniard, for example, who upon asking the Latino from which country he arrived and recognizing in him his roots, confesses that his dream is, after much work and saving, to spend his last days in a Latin American country.
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