Key growth destinations in Latin America from the UK have been identified in new research while Cuba as suffered a sharp fall.
Ecuador (ahead 25.1%), Dominican Republic (24.1%), Costa Rica (20.3%) and Chile (8.3%) top the list based on flight bookings for departures between this month and January 2020 over the same booking period last year.
Argentina has also seen an increase of 4.6% over the coming six months, making it the fourth most popular destination.
Countries including Bolivia, Guyana and Belize are also performing well with bookings over the next six months up 17.4%, 6.1% and 5.4% respectively.
The Latin American Travel Association has teamed up with global travel intelligence experts ForwardKeys to monitor outbound visitor statistics from the UK to Latin America.
Air booking data for the year to July 31 saw a 1.9% decline year-on-year.
Total UK outbound flight bookings dropped by 2.1% during the same period, highlighting “some resilience” from the Latin American travel market.
Mexico accounted for the largest share of UK arrivals to the region (22.7%), followed by Brazil (17.3%), Peru (8.5%), Cuba (8.4%), and Colombia (8.0%).
Both Brazil and Colombia showed steady rates of growth at 4.8% and 1.3% respectively while Mexico and Peru suffered a dip in bookings from the UK of 6.2% and 3.1% respectively.
But Cuba has showed a steeper slide in flight bookings of 22.2% year-on-year.
Argentina and the Dominican Republic registered the highest increases in departures from the UK of 16.1% and 20.9% in the January to July period.
Chile also performed well with an 8.8% increase while Costa Rica registered an increase of 6.7%.
Two of the continent’s more niche destinations, and the only two English speaking countries in Latin America, also performed well. Guyana recorded a 16.5% year-on-year increase and Belize was up 13.9%.
Lata chairman Colin Stewart said: “These figures give us some useful insight into UK demand and booking habits.
“It’s clear that Latin America continues to be a destination that is in demand, and we look forward to working with our members over the next year and beyond to continue to develop sustainable business to the region, and ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are enjoyed throughout Latin America.”