Guatemala has revealed plans to work with UK tour operators to organise travel agent fam trips next year as it seeks to raise its profile as the “hidden gem” in Central America.
The destination is currently gauging interest from UK operators to run educationals and is meeting suppliers during World Travel Market.
Anna Valdez, head of promotions and advertising at the country’s tourist board Inguat, said: “We are interested in fam trips and we are open to them and we are looking for interested tour operators.”
She stressed the destination was at the early stages of planning educationals and surveying operators for feedback on the best times and durations for UK fam trips.
“We want to see what time of year is best for the trade and how many groups of agents so it depends on what operators say, but it’s important we get the right agents,” she said.
She admitted the country had not promoted itself as well as some of its neighbouring countries in the past but now hoped to up its game under a new government which came to power at the start of 2024.
Last year there were 20,000 UK visitors to Guatemala, a figure Valdez would like to see increase.
“Guatemala has it all but other countries have positioned themselves well and we have not been as efficient. We are a new [government] administration and we aim to revert that; we would like a get a higher number of UK tourists and want to spread the word,” she said.
She added: “Guatemala is not as well known as a country but we have world heritage sites and colonial cities. We have a great textiles heritage and we are also a place for authentic experiences and nature; you can climb a volcano and see another one erupt, you can cook a pizza on volcano lava.”
The plans come as Guatemala runs a 14-day advertising campaign on open-top tourist buses in London and at train stations in the capital to tie in with World Travel Market.
The campaign, titled A World To Explore, includes video advertising at Canary Wharf station and large poster advertisements at Stratford station.