American travelers may stay closer to home in ‘08 but still go to Central America
NEW YORK—Travel in 2007 was marked by high gas prices, new passport rules, record lows for the dollar, and record-high air travel.
LATIN AMERICA: Travel by U.S. residents in the first nine months of this year was up 8 percent to Central America and 7.6 percent to South America, according to the Commerce Department.
Why the surge? The dollar goes further in Latin America than in Europe, and “the old image of South American countries - dictatorships and machine guns - is gone,” said Bob Whitley, president of the USTOA. “Instead, South America and Central America are the new hot destinations.”
Travelocity bookings show “Guatemala is up considerably, Panama is a trendsetter destination and with Nicaragua, people are getting curious about what’s there,” Ziff said.
Yahoo! Travel also reports El Salvador and Panama among its up-and-coming destinations for 2008.
[via San Jose Mercury News]
