Buenos Aires, the Patagonia and the Argentinian North are the most sought after destinations in the most important tourism fairs in the world, the outstanding preferences being wine, gastronomy, adventure and cultural tourism, and Tango as an expression of Buenos Aires’ culture. In 2007, Argentina positioned itself as the leading touristic destination in the region, having received more than 4.5 million visitors.

The country has the best air connections, favoring the arrival of a greater amount of travelers from Europe and North America, at a rate of 17% in the last two years. The number of travelers coming from the rest of America also increased. Uruguay receives almost 2 million tourists each year, the majority coming from Argentina.

The director of the National Institute of Civil Aviation received the visit of TAM MERCOSUR representatives. The visit was aimed at the official delivery of documents and bonds for the beginning of air operations from Paraguay to Venezuela with a halfway point which would probably be Brasil.

As of March, Varig will concentrate its long range service in Europe, Paris and Madrid, offering connections to other destinations through alliances with other airlines, such as Air France-KLM, Air Europa and Iberia. This new strategy comes before the suspension of direct flights to London as of March 1st and to Frankfurt and Rome as of the 29th. On the other hand, it will continue its daily flights to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico, intending to commence flights to the United States this year.

In 2007, national and international air traffic registered growth rates of 21.2% and 16.1%, respectively, obtaining the best results of the last 10 years. In the January-December period, 9 million passengers were transported, an approximate growth rate of 18.4% with respect to 2006.

Revolutions Peru, using North American and Irish capital, intends to begin the construction of a seven-star boutique hotel in the Sacred Valley next year. The company will commence construction of the new projects only after beginning construction of its project in the Asia beach resort, south of Lima.

The Minister of Tourism held various work meetings with groups of Ecuadorian residents in Spain with the aim of establishing agreements and alliances to incorporate them into the Ecuadorian touristic promotion efforts.

During 2007, Avianca achieved unprecedented results in their balance sheets. Sales were of US$ 1.423 billion, with a 31% increase during the year. Likewise, the operational profits came close to US$ 200 million with net profits of 100 million.

The director of INAC does not rule out the possibility that the Venezuelan State will subsidize Aeropostal once they present recuperation plans in which they explain that it could improve both economically and operatively.

The arrival of tourists to Central America increased by 7.68% in 2007, receiving a total of 7,571,310 foreign visitors; 516,375 more than in 2006.

The Civil Aviation Authority assigned US$ 4,575,000 this year for the construction, reparation and maintenance of the country’s airport installations.

As of Wednesday, April 2nd, Taca will operate a second flight between El Salvador and Miami, Florida, expanding its network of routes in the Americas. The flight will be operated with Airbus 320 aircraft.

As of June 1st, Mexicana de Aviacion will open a new route to Calgary, its fourth destination in Canada. The route will have a frequency of four weekly direct flights to and from Mexico City. The airline calculates that it will transport more than 20,000 passengers per year via this route.

The touristic authorities are aiming at the development of cruise tourism, promoting the concept of “puerto madre” in the country, dedicated to the boarding of cruise ships and their departure point towards trips in the Caribbean.

I still remember when I made my first visit to the jungle. It was about 20 years ago to Iquitos. After nearly 3 hours in a motorboat we arrived at the hostel. It was rustic, very rustic. There was no electricity. The refrigerator ran on kerosene. The water, from the river… the food was delicious, but very limited by what the environment near the hostel offered, and very simple. It was almost like camping, or barely a step towards something like comfort (or towards less discomfort?). Read more...