Argentina leads outbound travel growth in Latin America for H1 2018

LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN. Outbound international travel bookings from Latin America and the Caribbean for the first half of 2018 are up +9.3% year-on-year, according to latest figures from ForwardKeys.

The overall growth in the two regions’ departures builds on a +6.8% increase in 2017. The latest results from ForwardKeys will be presented in detail at the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2018 Global Summit in Buenos Aires, April 18 – 19.

Argentina is leading that growth with a +16.6% boost in bookings as of 8 April. However the strengthening of the US Dollar against the Argentine Peso is tempering the appetite for long-haul travel, according to ForwardKeys. Travellers from Argentina are mainly going elsewhere in Latin America – a +17.1% hike year-on-year.

Brazil showed the second-highest growth rate of +14.2% for outbound travel. Brazilians are travelling more long haul, particularly to the US and Canada due to improved connectivity and an Electronic Travel Authorisation Visa programme.

“The trend in flight bookings both to and from Latin America is incredibly healthy,” said ForwardKeys CEO Olivier Jager. “There is something of a virtuous circle right now. Many airlines are increasing capacity and as that capacity is being filled, airlines are encouraged to further increase the number of seats they provide.”

For the next three months, Colombia, Brazil and Chile are among the top destinations for major Latin American markets (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile).

Bookings to Russia for June’s FIFA World Cup are also high – outbound travel from Mexico has skyrocketed +373.5%. Argentina to Russia is also ahead +303% on last year. However, to put these numbers in context, just 1-2% of forward bookings for the next three months are to Russia, said the analyst.

In terms of inbound travel, regional growth is +1.9% year-on-year, hampered by the Caribbean which has dropped -7.1%. The Caribbean market accounts for a 29% share of inbound travel.

Caribbean destinations including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are still recovering from the devastating effects of hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria.

Inbound travel to South American countries is up +12% year-on-year. Brazil’s strong rating (inbound bookings for the first half of 2018 are +16.5% ahead) is down to improved connectivity with the USA and a recent e-visa programme for visitors from Australia (since November 2017), US, Canada and Japan (since January 2018). The e-visa programme has significantly simplified the visa application process, reducing the request time and the fees (in the case of the USA, from $160 to $40).

ForwardKeys predicts future travel patterns by analysing 17 million booking transactions a day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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