Experience Latin America by LATA is Europe's only travel trade event dedicated to Latin America. The Latin American Travel Association's flagship event brings together key suppliers and buyers for three days of business appointments, seminars and networking.

In 2017, ELA will feature 130 exhibitors, a 10% increase compared to 2016. This includes 61 new exhibitors and 69 returning exhibitors including tourist boards, airlines, tour operators, local DMCs, cruise and transportation companies as well as other travel and tourism products operating to and in Latin America. Here is the latest news from ELA exhibitors:

Airline News 

Aeromexico increases flights between London and Mexico City to daily nonstop service

From May 2017, Aeromexico increased its service from six weekly flights to one daily flight between London and Mexico City. Outbound flights will leave London Heathrow at 22.35, arriving in Mexico City at 04.20 and inbound flights will leave Mexico City at 22.55, arriving into London at 16.50. www.aeromexico.com

Air Europa introduces first direct flight to Honduras

In April 2017, Air Europa launched the first ever flight from Madrid to San Pedro Sula in Honduras which will operate once a week. The outbound flight will depart from Madrid at 01.35 on Thursdays, arriving at 04.40 and the inbound flight will land in Madrid on Fridays at 05.15. Return flights are priced from £405 from London via Madrid with a flight time of approximately 18 hours. www.aireuropa.com

Iberia to boost Lima connections

Iberia has confirmed that it will raise capacity on its Madrid – Lima route in July and August 2017, offering three additional flights each week. The extra overnight flights will take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, facilitating connections at both ends. www.iberia.com

LATAM Airlines launch new connections from Lima and Santiago
In September 2017, LATAM will launch a new direct flight from Lima, Peru to Tucumán, Argentina. In October, it will also start operating a direct service from Santiago, Chile to three cities in Argentina – San Juan, Neuquén and Tucumán opening up the region further for international visitors. www.latam.com

United Airlines announces new service between New York and Buenos Aires

United Airlines has announced a new year-round daily, nonstop service between New York and Buenos Aires, Argentina, starting in October 2017. In addition, the airline is increasing its year-round, daily service to Bogota, Colombia, from New York, with an additional daily flight starting June 8 through August 14. www.united.com

Hotel News

Inkaterra announces the opening of a new property in the Peruvian Amazon

Inkaterra has announced the launch of a new hotel in the heart of the Tampobata National Reserve in the Peruvian Amazon called the Inkaterra Guides Field Station. Guests will have the option of staying in one of four 'cabanas' (small cabins) or, one of two large 'pavilions' featuring eight rooms which sleep up to four guests. The Inkaterra Guides Field Station includes a restaurant serving fresh local delicacies and an Eco Centre designed to educate guests on the local flora and fauna. One night's stay in one of the pavilions is priced from £60 per person. www.inkaterra.com/guides-field-station

Small Distinctive Hotels of Costa Rica welcomes a new member   

Small Distinctive Hotels of Costa Rica, a luxury boutique hotel collective in Costa Rica, has acquired luxury four star hotel Alma del Pacifico Beach Hotel & Spa. The hotel is ideally located in the Puntarenas Province on Costa Rica's Pacific coast approximately two hours from San Jose. The hotel has 23 luxurious private boutique villas that feature stunning views overlooking the glistening ocean perfect for tranquillity-seeking guests. Alma Del Pacifico Beach Hotel & Spa offers visitors a wide variety of activities such as surfing, snorkelling and trekking in the nearby rainforest.  www.distinctivehotels.com

Tierra Hotels doubles the size of its Chiloé property
Tierra Hotels has announced that geometrically designed eco-hotel Tierra Chiloé is doubling in size from 12 rooms to 24. A new extension, designed by the original architects Mobil Arquitectos, is currently being developed, continuing with the sustainable design which reflects traditional local houses built on stilts over the water. The bold design of Tierra Chiloé highlights the ever-changing views of nearby islands and the distant mountains on the mainland. www.tierrahotels.com

Destination News

Costa Rica to become carbon neutral by 2021

Costa Rica plans to become carbon neutral by 2021.The goal marks the country out as a global leader in the fight against climate change. Costa Rica already generates around 98% of its electricity from renewable sources, mainly its hydroelectric dams. However, the country faces a number of challenges in cutting its rising transport emissions, which have risen from welcoming a growing number of visitors year on year. www.visitcostarica.com

Peru News

A new cable car link opened in April 2017 in northern Peru joining the village of Tingo Nuevo to the pre-Inca ruins of Kuelap, one of Peru's most important archaeological sites. The ruins were previously only accessible with a steep 9km hike up unpaved roads. The new transport link will reduce the four hour hike to a 20 minute cable car ride. www.peru.travel/es-es

Virgilio Martinez, the chef behind London's Michelin-starred LIMA and its younger sibling LIMA Floral, will open a brand new restaurant in spring 2017 in Moray, 45 minutes' scenic drive from Peru's ancient Inca city of Cusco which will serve local Andean cuisine.  www.centralrestaurante.com.pe

Quito begins construction of new convention centre

Construction has begun on a new convention centre in the heart of the Andean capital of Quito, due to be completed in the second half of 2018. The new Metropolitan Convention Centre will feature two exhibition spaces with a capacity of over 4,000 people each, an auditorium with a capacity of 800 people, and an event space with a capacity of 4,000. The project is set to position Quito as a leading destination for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions both on a regional and international level. www.quito.com

Tren Ecuador to launch new Gold class for Tren Crucero

Tren Ecuador is set to launch a new Gold class for luxury train 'Tren Crucero', recognised as one of Latin America's leading luxury trains by the World Travel Awards for three consecutive years. The train features two luxury cars which can carry up to 50 passengers and an onboard bar, gift shop, two observation lounges and open air terraces offering spectacular views of the Ecuadorian landscape. A four-day itinerary on the train is priced from £1,274 www.trenecuador.com.

Tour Operator News

Australis launches new expedition cruise ship

Cruise specialist Australis has confirmed that its new expedition cruise vessel will take to the water in January 2018. Named Ventus Australis the new state-of-the-art Australis expedition vessel will explore the remoteness of Patagonia encompassing the Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. The new luxury 210 passenger ship will offer spacious cabins with Nobel beds and floor to ceiling windows to capture the stunning scenery of fjords and glacial channels, a stylish sky lounge and a gourmet restaurant. A four night cruise costs from £1,471 per person on an all-inclusive basis based on two sharing a cabin and including all excursions and meals. www.australis.com

Explore the Galapagos Islands with Metropolitan Touring

Pioneers of Galapagos Island travel, Metropolitan Touring, have launched the first luxury island hopping safari in the archipelago, offering greater flexibility than a traditional cruise and the chance to explore some of its remoter regions. The tour begins on Isabela Island, where guests will stay at the luxurious Scalesia Lodge. Here guests can set off on day trips to traverse the rim of the active Sierra Negra Volvano and explore the Tintoreras Islets. The holiday continues to Santa Cruz to stay at the Finch Bay Galapagos Hotel where travellers can spend time exploring the neighbouring isles, spotting scaled iguanas and monolithic tortoises. An eight-day itinerary is priced from £3,633 including accommodation and inter-island flights. www.metropolitan-touring.com

Oro Travel launches a new culinary adventure in Nicaragua

New for 2017, specialist Nicaraguan tour operator Oro Travel has launched an eight-day culinary adventure designed to introduce travellers to the gastronomic delicacies of the country. The foodie journey includes tasting 'Quesillos' (a combination of fresh corn tortillas, local mozzarella cheese, pickled onions and sour cream) in Nagarote in the north west of Nicaragua, visiting the colonial city of Leon and travelling to the Pacific coast to feast on fresh whole fried fish and traditional seafood soup. Prices of the tour are available upon request.  www.orotravel.com/travel-themes/culinary-tourism

Kallpa Tours introduces new edition of trekking to the clouds experience in Argentina

Kallpa Tours has re-launched a new edition of its trekking adventure in the north-west region of Argentina near the city of Salta. The four-day adventure starts in Ingeniero Maury station where travellers will take the world famous Train to the Clouds and travel to Qubrada de San Lorenza. The full itinerary takes guests along an old Inca trail to the rainforests of Salta Yunga offering breathtaking views of the Lerma Valley and Salta city.  The trek is priced from £455 per person. www.kallpatour.com/live-the-trekking-to-the-clouds/

New chocolate experience with Colombian Journeys

Colombian Journeys is offering a new day-long chocolate tasting and making workshop at the Colombian Chocolate Club located in the heart of Bogota. Guests will learn about the chocolate making process and the different types of cacao beans that can be found in Colombia before making their own chocolate and enjoying a chocolate tasting. The experience is priced from £89 based on two people travelling together. www.colombianjourneys.com

Key Tourism Statistics to the region

Belize

• UK tourism increased by 5% in 2016
• 9% overall increase in cruise visitation in 2016 with cruise passengers exceeding one million visitors for the first time

Brazil

• 202,671 UK visitors in 2016

Chile

• International visitors up by 26% year on year in 2016
• UK visits up by 11% year on year in 2016
• Over 51,000 UK arrivals in 2016

Colombia

• 4% increase in visitors overall in 2016
• UK visitors up by 14.1% in 2016
• Tourism up by 12.8% in the first three months of 2017

Costa Rica

• 7% year on year rise in UK visitors in the first three months of 2017
• 8,085 Brits visited Costa Rica in January 2017, an increase of 19.2% compared to January 2016.

Peru

• International visitors up by 8.4% in 2016 (total of 3,744,461)
• UK visitors increased by 9.6% year on year in 2016 with 63,213 travellers in 2015 and 69,302 in 2016.

Nicaragua

• 9% year on year increase in tourism arrivals in the first three months of 2017 (Jan – March)
• European visitors increased by 3.3% in the first three months of 2017
• 16% increase in UK visitors in 2016 compared to 2015.

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For more information on Latin America as a travel destination, please visit www.lata.travel.

The Latin America Travel Association (LATA) – is represented by Lotus.  For editorial and marketing enquiries, please contact Jules Ugo, Kate McWilliams or Lucy Keenan at Lotus– LATAPR@wearelotus.co.uk  0207 953 7470