By Staff Writer | for Moakanyi Magazine
An overview of the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) travel and tourism (T&T) findings.
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the LAC region was improving in terms of T&T competitiveness, albeit with most of its economies still performing below the global average. The region benefits from its abundant natural resources and increasing international openness and price competitiveness, all of which boost the attractiveness of the region as a destination.
However, the COVID-19 crisis has, at least temporarily, negated these factors as the regional and global T&T industry has been forced to shut down. For the region’s T&T industry to survive and recover from the crisis, policymakers and other stakeholders will have to come up with creative ways to improve the region’s competitiveness.
Currently, numerous obstacles remain, not least of which are low scores for the Business Environment and Safety and Security pillars. Infrastructure and, in particular, air and ground transport assets are also relatively underdeveloped, discouraging visitation and T&T investment.
Below-average environmental sustainability also endangers the region’s advantage in nature tourism. Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed problems with the region’s health and hygiene system, making it more difficult to manage the virus, reopen and build back trust for travel.
Out of the 21 LAC countries covered in this report, 12 have increased in T&T competitiveness since 2017, with Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic registering the greatest improvement. Mexico remains the highest scorer on the TTCI in LAC, with enhanced T&T policy and enabling conditions, infrastructure and natural and cultural resources helping it rank in the global top 20 for the first time since the inception of the TTCI.
If LAC’s private- and public-sector T&T leaders take advantage of the current crisis and work together to improve competitiveness, the industry can be equipped to tackle the regional issues, including slower rates of economic development and poverty. However, in order to accomplish these goals, stakeholders must also recognize the need to consider environmental and socioeconomic sustainability in decision-making. Approaches that focus only on driving short-term tourism demand have the potential to weaken the long-term resilience of the T&T industry.
Source: World Economic Forum
