The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) has announced that the 2021 edition of its flagship event, LATA Expo, will now go ahead in a virtual format rather than the live event originally planned. LATA also confirmed that LATA Expo 2022 will be held as a live event at Battersea Evolution from 13-15 June 2022.

LATA Expo is Europe's largest B2B Latin America dedicated trade show and is vital to facilitating trade between European travel trade operators and Latin American suppliers. LATA had planned for this year's edition to be held as a live event, however, after last year's successful virtual format and in the interest of being able to provide exhibitors and buyers with a degree of certainty that the event will go ahead, LATA has decided that LATA Expo 2021 will be held in a virtual capacity. The event will now take place across a five-day period from 11-15 October 2021, with the format following a similar pattern to last year's including a shorter timetable designed to accommodate the time difference between the UK and Latin America.

Continuing from the success of LATA Expo 2021, this year's programme will follow a similar blueprint focusing on pre-scheduled one-to-one meetings between exhibitors and suppliers, as well as keynote seminars and insight into important travel and consumer trends impacting the region. 

LATA is determined for LATA Expo 2022 to go ahead as a live event following a tumultuous year and a half for the Latin American travel sector with many Latin American destinations having been the subject of ongoing travel restrictions from UK authorities. LATA Expo 2022 will take place from 13-15 June 2022 at Battersea Evolution.

Danny Callaghan, CEO of LATA, commented: 

“We understand the importance of LATA Expo and the role it plays in facilitating trade between European travel trade operators and Latin American suppliers, many of whom are LATA members, and so we wanted to be able to provide exhibitors and buyers with the guarantee that the event will go ahead. The added degree of certainty that deciding to make it a virtual event brings allows us to plan accordingly and this, coupled with key learnings from last year's event, will hopefully allow us to emulate the successes of LATA Expo 2020. We are at a critical moment for the Latin American travel industry, and we hope that this decision will give our members confidence that LATA will deliver its flagship trade show.”