The Latin American Travel Association (Lata) hailed the region’s “father of adventure tourism” as it inducted Alfredo Ferreyros into the Lata hall of fame.
The association, which held its annual parliamentary reception at the House of Commons last night (Tuesday), recognised the 75-year-old founder of Peru-based Explorandes as he prepares to step back from the day-to-day running of the tour operator.
Ferreyros, who delivered a recorded message, said he was “honoured and thrilled”, adding that being inducted into the hall of fame was a “very important acknowledgement” of his contributions.
After founding Explorandes in 1975, he went on to set up the Peruvian Association of Adventure and Ecotourism and served as its president for more than a decade.
Lata chairman Martin Johnson commended his efforts to establish stringent safety standards for adventure operations and praised Explorandes’ decision to eliminate single-use plastics in 2000, describing the step as “far ahead of its time”.
Production company Studio Lambert was presented with Lata’s special recognition award for its work on series two of BBC show Celebrity Race Across the World.
Johnson said: “In a recent poll of Lata members, 60% reported an increase in enquiries to the places shown during the series.”
He praised the show for showcasing “the beauty of the region and the warmth of those people the teams met on the way”.
Series runner-up Mary-Ellen Moriarty, who appeared on the show with her actor cousin Kola Bokinni, said: “Getting the opportunity to race through Latin America was a privilege that didn’t pass us by. The culture, the landscapes and the people we met will stay with us forever.”
Fabian Hamilton MP, the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Latin America, who hosted the reception, said: “I believe that countries of Latin America are now the most important friends for this country. If we are closer to those countries, the world will be a better place and we can teach each other an awful lot as well as do good business together.”