The launch this month of a new Guide to Latin America for agents and consumers marks a small but significant step forward for operators selling tours to the continent.
The guide has been produced by the Latin American Travel Association, which has 60 members ranging from UK tour operators to hotels, airlines and tourist offices.
It includes details of the tourist attractions of every country in Central and South America, including Cuba, plus advertisements from several of the operators and agents to the region.
A LATA spokeswoman said: “It is quite amazing what ignorance there is about Latin America, partly because the various countries don’t have very large budgets to promote tourism, and so the region gets very little positive publicity.
“This guide is the first free, readily available marketing tool for the region which we hope will increase awareness of South America and what it has to offer the holidaymaker.”
Copies of the guide, which will be updated every year, have been sent to all independent agents and miniples and they are available to holidaymakers on request.