Destination News

100 year anniversary of Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín

2019 marks the 100th anniversary of Ecuadorian painter and sculptor, Oswaldo Guayasamín's birthday. Guayasamín grew up in a poor family and, following the death of a close friend, became inspired to portray themes of oppression in lower social classes. This led to works that gained international recognition such as 'Los Niños Muertos' (The Dead Children) and 'El Silencio' (The Silence). The Guayasamín Museum in Quito is located in his former home and will feature a number of activities and exhibitions to celebrate the centenary in 2019. www.guayasamin.or

500th anniversary of Panama City

In 2019 Panama City will celebrate its 500th anniversary since its founding. The fifth centenary will recognise influences that different cultures have had on the city as well as recognising the significant advancements it has made to its infrastructure and tourist offering in recent years. Steppes Travel offers a 'Highlights of Panama' tour with a visit to the capital and to discover the engineering of the canal. The 12-day tour is priced from £2,195 per person and includes accommodation and internal transport. www.visitpanama.com

Latin America launches new roadmap to save the jaguar

Leading international conservation organisations and key jaguar range states have joined together to launch the Jaguar 2030 Conservation Roadmap for the Americas in a commitment to saving the jaguar. The roadmap aims to strengthen the Jaguar Corridor, ranging from Mexico to Argentina, by securing 30 priority jaguar conservation landscapes. The initiative will strengthen cooperation and awareness for jaguar protection by stimulating sustainable development opportunities that benefit both the fauna and indigenous peoples coexisting in these areas. www.wwf.panda.org

Peru News

From 6 to 18 January 2019, Peru will host the 41st edition of the Dakar Rally in 2019. The route, comprised of 10 stages, will start and finish in Lima as the start and finish point.www.dakar.com

Lima will host the 2019 edition of the Pan American Games (known as Pan Am Games) bringing together 6,700 athletes across 39 different summer sports in one of the America's biggest sporting events. The event will begin on 26 July and end on 11 August 2019, offering visitors to Peru's capital the chance to see top class athletes. www.lima2019.pe/en

Tour Operator News

Chimu Adventures offers once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see emperor penguins– in s

In light of BBC Dynasties' Emperor Penguin episode, Chimu Adventures is offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Emperor Penguin rook on Snow Hill Island. The captain of the expedition will position the vessel as close as possible to the island in order to enable ship-to-shore access via a helicopter. From there a 45 minute walk will take polar explorers to the Emperor Penguin rook. The 10-day cruise is priced from £8,233.18 per person and includes all meals and activities. www.chimuadventures.com

Journey Mexico introduces tour to help protect the Chinampas

Journey Mexico has begun working with local communities in Xochimilco to help protect the Chinampas - floating gardens that once made up an ancient Aztec city. The new tour, led by an expert guide, takes guests to explore the man-made Chinampas that help protect the critically endangered Axolotl population. The tour includes a bird watching experience, support efforts to save the Axolotl, a visit to the Chinampas to learn about their history and a traditional lunch made from locally-sourced products. The tour is priced from £699 per person. www.journeymexico.com

Tucan Travel launches new northern Peru tour

Tucan Travel has launched a new tour to an off-the-beaten-track region of Chachapoyas, northern Peru, which was once the home to the Chachapoyas people before the Incas arrived in 1470. The itinerary includes a visit to the ancient citadel of Kuelap as well as natural wonders such as the Gocta waterfall and the Sonche canyon. The 11-day tour is priced from £1,689 per person and includes some meals and internal transport. www.tucantravel.com

Andean trails launches Ecuador lodge to lodge trekking tour

New for 2019, Andean Trails is launching a lodge-to-lodge hiking tour in Ecuador during which guests will choose from a variety of itineraries depending on their level and stay in remote mountain lodges. Options include climbing Pasachoa, wandering alongside the river Pita through canyons and cloud forest, exploring an Inca site and crossing the paramo plains of Cotopaxi national park to spot wild horses. The four-day trek is priced from £1,600 per person and includes internal transport, all meals, accommodation and an expert guide. www.andeantrails.co.uk

Cuba Private Travel introduces 'the wild east Gibara to Granma' tour

Cuba Private Travel has introduced a new tour in the eastern area of Cuba, from Gibara to Granma that combines culture and adventure with an array of activities. These include diving the famous Blue and Green Tanks, rock climbing in the Mogotes, a ride through Cuba's own African safari and chocolate making, and visiting Commandacia Fidel Castro's personal hideout. The 14-day tour is priced from £2,500 per person and requires a group minimum of four. www.cubaprivatetravel.com

Chile from north to south with Geodyssey

Geodyssey has launched a new tour that allows guests to experience the best of Chile from north to south. The itinerary begins in the northern Atacama Desert where travellers will explore the salt flats and high plains home to flamingos before continuing south towards Chile's Lake District known for its picturesque villages nestled between snow-capped mountains. From there tourists will travel to Patagonia for a spot of sailing on remote fjords below glaciers and ending in Torres del Paine National Park. The 13-day tour is priced from £2,950 per person and includes accommodation, internal transport and guided excursions in each location. www.geodyssey.co.uk

Explore Travel's Family Brazil Adventure Holiday

Explore Travel's new Family Brazil Adventure Holiday begins in the colourful, colonial city of Salvador with a lesson in the ancient martial art of Capoeira, followed by a visit to the palm-lined beach at Praia do Forte and a chance to see TAMAR sea turtle project. Families will then travel into the Amazon to learn jungle survival skills, sleep in a hammock on the banks of the river and take a motorised canoe trip to spot Caiman after dark. Travellers will also visit the Iguazu Falls before ending the tour exploring Sugarloaf Mountain and Copacabana beach in the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro. The 13-day tour is priced from £4,530 per adult and £3,960 per child and departs 20 July – 2 August 2019, and 3 –16 August 2019. Prices include return flights, internal transfers, accommodation, some meals and an expert guide. www.explore.co.uk/holidays/family-brazil-adventure-holiday

Travel the Unknown launches 'hidden itineraries' in Peru and Brazil

Travel the Unknown has launched new 'Hidden Itineraries' in Peru and Brazil travelling off the beaten track to discover relatively untouched areas. The Peru itinerary ventures north to the pre-Incan regions of Karajía, Gocta Waterfall, Kuélap, Chiclayo, Trujillo and Chan Chan. The Brazil trip begins in Recife and ends in El Salvador, taking in celebrations such as the annual Festa de Iemanjá, before heading to Igarassu, Pai Mateus, Cabaceiras, Cachoeira, Lençóis and remote Chapada Diamantina National Park. The 13-day Hidden Peru tour is priced from £2,095 per person and the 14-day Hidden Brazil tour is priced from £2,995 per person. Both tours include internal transport, accommodation, some meals and expert guides. www.traveltheunknown.com

Ecocircuitos Panama and Peru beyond the conquest

Ecocircuitos has launched a new Panama and Peru itinerary that takes travellers on the same routes that the conquistadores followed when they first arrived in Latin America. The trip begins in Panama where the first expeditions reached the mainland continent, before continuing to Peru where the largest empire the continent had seen at the time, the Incan Empire, resided. On this 16 day tour visitors will uncover in depth the history that surrounds these fascinating locations while hearing the untold stories of the local people that fought to protect their land. Prices are available upon request. www.ecocircuitos.com

Hotel News

EcoCamp Patagonia's conservation efforts for native puma population

EcoCamp Patagonia is offering a Puma Tracking Experience in an effort to conserve the region's big cat population. This comes in the light of an international film crew that is currently in the destination documenting the pumas in Torres del Paine National Park. Visitors can enjoy the conservation effort with an itinerary that includes a stay at the fully sustainable EcoCamp with a professional tracker and wildlife photographer and involves hiking into the more unknown reaches of the park. The six-day tour is priced from £3,267.30 with EcoCamp Patagonia's partner company Cascada Expediciones. The price includes accommodation, some meals, internal transport and expert guide. www.ecocamp.travel/en / www.cascada.travel/en 

Easter Island Eco Lodge certified for its green policies

Easter Island Eco Lodge has been rewarded for its hard work and commitment to sustainable practices with a new sustainability certification known as the 'S seal'. The new sustainability certificate will join a number of other accolades the Eco Lodge already holds as it attempts to continue growing in a sustainable manner while promoting the Rapa Nui culture native to the island. A three night stay is priced from £445 per person based on a quad room on the Discover Rapa Nui Programme.  www.eiecolodge.com

Airline News

Air Europa to increase Latin America network

In 2019 Air Europa will launch two new routes from Madrid to Panama and Iguazu, Argentina, taking its Latin American network to a total of 21 destinations across 14 countries. The new flight to Panama, operated by the airline's Dreamliner aircraft, will commence in June 2019 with five flights a week between Madrid and Panama City. The twice-weekly flight to Puerto Iguazu is planned to launch in the same month, providing the first international service for the airport, a gateway to the popular Iguazu Falls. www.aireuropa.com/en

Avianca inaugurates new Bogota-Munich route

Avianca has recently inaugurated a new direct Munich to Bogota route is operating five times a week. The Munich-Bogotá route will be operated by a widebody Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner aircraft. Return flights are priced from £576.20 based on one adult travelling in economy class. www.avianca.com/uk/en 

Other News

Brazil achieves blue flag status in 15 of its beaches

Blue Flag status is awarded to beaches, marinas and sustainable boating tourism operators following a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria. Brazil has now achieved Blue Flag status in 15 of those following the addition of Piçarras beach in Balneário Piçarras (SC), and Estaleiro and Estaleirinho beaches, in Balneário Camboriú (SC) that will fly the flag for the first time this summer. Brazil now has nine beaches, five marinas and one sustainable tourist boat that meet Blue Flag status for this summer season. www.visitbrasil.com/en/

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Editorial notes:

The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) is represented by LOTUS. For more information a/o images, please contact Kate McWilliams, Lucy Keenan or George Leonard (latapr@wearelotus.co.uk / 0207 953 7470). For more information on LATA, please visit www.lata.travel