Demand is outstripping supply in Latin America as visitor numbers are expected to exceed 2019 levels by the end of the year.
Colin Stewart, chairman of the Latin America Tourism Association (Lata), said the region is recovering at a “remarkable” rate, but flight and accommodation capacity has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, causing an imbalance.
“When we initially considered when tourism would return to pre-pandemic levels in the region, we predicted between 2024 and 2025, or even in 2026, but it has accelerated significantly,” Stewart told Travel Weekly.
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“There is a lot of pent up demand – some people had money put aside for travel and now that the opportunity to do that is there, they’ve jumped at it.
“Supply was always going to be the challenge as airlines retired some of their fleet or accommodation providers closed down so we’re not surprised we are seeing this balance of excessive demand.
“Until we get back to the full supply we had in 2019, demand will continue to outstrip supply. We’ve got people who are desperate to go on holiday but the capacity is limited, be it on aircraft or in accommodation.
“I think this is quite a nice scenario to be in as we know that when the capacity does come back, the demand will be there to fill it so it means we’re confident at reopening hotels or restarting flights.
“There are no signs of any slowdown of demand so we are confident it will continue.”
Stewart went on to say some countries are reporting higher visitor numbers than in 2019, and he expects to see that across the whole region by the end of the year.
“Across the board, visitor numbers to Latin American countries are back to about 80-85% of pre-pandemic levels, but in some destinations that is at nearly 95% while others, such as Colombia, are exceeding 2019 levels,” he added.
“We expect to exceed 2019 visitor numbers this year and to drive that even further in 2024.
“I think the remarkable speed in which visitors have come back to the region shows the resilience of the industry and the passion of travellers.”