February, 2005 www.LatinEPR.com LatinEPR News Wire
Dear Reader,
With end of the year numbers coming in and painting a very encouraging picture of 2004, Latin America has every reason to be optimistic about its future. Brazil and Mexico, the two largest economies in the region, have remained stable, while Argentina and Venezuela are recovering more quickly from their recent acute crises than experts predicted. Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia are strengthening steadily, and all of Central America is reporting growth in the tourism industry, giving those countries the right impetus to promote themselves globally and set higher goals for 2005 than they have ever done before.
Perhaps the most important change from previous years, however, is the region’s self reliance, evident in pan-regional travel and business relations. Increased travel within Latin America contributed to double-digit improvements over the previous year in most countries’ travel and tourism industries.
With stability and growth comes spending power, and considering Latin America is almost twice as populated as the US, the region represents a vast market, where trends seems to catch on faster than anywhere else in the world. Case in point, cell phone usage in the region will outnumber that of the US, and more than 70 million Latin Americans will have access to the internet in 2005.
In addition, there are strong ties, as well as ongoing travel and communication, between Latin America and the ever expanding US Hispanic population. US Hispanics have surpassed 35 million, and although they have represented the largest minority group in this country since 2003, it is only recently that the concept of Hispanic or Latino has ceased to be a passing novelty and become instead a very concrete reality. Recognizing the shift, many sectors of the media, particularly broadcasting companies and newspapers, have started to make long-term investments in this powerful market, with Spanish-language dailies and programming packages becoming the norm in all major US urban areas and beyond.
We are greatly encouraged by the interest of our readers, who are looking past the image problems which have plagued Latin America for so long and choose to focus instead on the immense potential of this market. We urge to continue to promote your travel & tourism products to Latin America, thereby ensuring a successful 2005.
Warm regards, Ellie Perla
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COMMUNICATIONS/MEDIA
In 2005 Internet users will surpass 1 billion, a sixth of the world’s population
“Of the one billion people logging on to the Internet in 2005, the majority, a staggering 180 million, will be in the US, while another 70 million will come from within Latin America, according to the Computer Industry Almanac, an Illinois-based market research company for the PC and Internet industry. However, the Internet is not the only communication sector breaking records in 2005; a third of the world population will have cellular phones this year. Leading the pack will be Latin America with more than 180 million cell phone owners, outnumbering the US. Although Latin America holds 8.4% of the world’s population, the region represents 9.2% of global cell phone usage.” BBC Mundo
Latinnews.com
Since 1967 Latin American Newsletters has been the leading independent source for political, strategic, economic, and business intelligence regarding Latin America. For nearly 40 years, LAN reports have been required reading for top government officials, senior executives, media commentators, and leading academics - in short, for everyone with a professional interest in Latin American affairs.
Miami Vice Arrives in Santo Domingo
Universal Pictures crews spent December and January scouting Santo Domingo for possible filming sites of the upcoming Miami Vice, the movie version of the popular NBC cop drama that ran from 1984-89. Filming will start in April under director Michael Mann. Colin Farrell has been cast as Detective James Sonny Crockett and Jamie Foxx as Detective Ricardo Tubbs. Michael Mann worked as writer and executive producer on the original Miami Vice TV show.
COMCAST INCORPORATES AZTECA AMERICA
Comcast has just incorporated Azteca America of Central California into its channel inventory for the entire Central Valley region. Azteca America is a subsidiary of Cocola Broadcasting, a private company based in Fresno, California, that manages 23 television stations in the western United States. Previously seen on stations KMSG-TV 55 Fresno and KFAZ-TV 8 Visalia, Azteca America will now be located on Comcast Channel 77 and available through basic service. Azteca itself manages TV stations in Fresno, Visalia, Bakersfield, and Boise, Idaho, thus reaching 38 Hispanic markets. Still, Azteca intends to expand its presence with additional affiliate stations in the future. At the moment, it produces more than 8,000 hours of original programming annually, including daily news programs, entertainment and reality shows, as well as the popular sports show, Futbol Mexicano.
LATIN AMERICAN TRAVEL AND TOURISM STATS AND NEWS BRIEFS
Name Change for Avianca
The new owner of Avianca, German Efromovich, who also heads the petroleum corporation Sinergy and the Brazilian airline Ocean Air, announced that the company will now be called ACA (Aerovias del Continente Americano.) In addition to the name change, ACA will also be expanding its fleet. Two new aircraft, a MD-83 and a B-757, are already being introduced. With a 75% stake in the Colombian Airline, Efromovich is seeking to make many further improvements, among them a route connecting Bogota with London, increased flights to Madrid and the US, as well as restoring service between Bogota and LA as soon as possible.
US$225 million for Dominican Republic Sanitation
The government of the Dominican Republic plans to allocate US$225 million to be used on a sanitation project in its major tourist areas, particularly along the northern coast in Las Terrenas and Las Galeras de Semana, Boca Chica, Juan Dolio, and Punta Cana.
Guatemala Expects High Numbers in 2005
After receiving over 1 million visitors in 2004, expectations in Guatemala are high for tourism to continue its growth in 2005. Industry insiders anticipate a 14% increase over this past year, which drew 1,045,194 tourists to the Central American country between January 1 and November 17, 2004. This was already a 37.5% increase over the same period in 2003.
Latin America Participates in Don Quijote Centennial
Latin American nations will be involved in staging the festivities for the 4th Centennial of Don Quijote de la Mancha, the famous Spanish novel written by Miguel de Cervantes and considered to be among the most important works of literature. Information on all the events is already available online (www.centenarioquijote.es.) The Spanish government will be investing 30 million Euros (approx. US$40 million) in the celebrations.
Mercosur To Open Office in Japan
In the hope of capturing large Japanese tourist numbers, Mercosur countries, with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and a US$4 million contribution, will open their tourism office in Tokyo this March. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay will all be represented at the new office.
Honduras Tourism Up 18% in 2004
Honduran authorities are immensely satisfied with the important growth domestic tourism experienced in 2004. Reports show an 18% increase over 2003.
2004 A Good Year for Colombia’s Tourism
2004 proved a successful year for Colombia’s tourism industry, both domestically and abroad, according to Anato, the Colombian travel and tourism agency. Sales within the essential economic sector rose markedly over the previous year, with air traffic increasing 3.5% despite a 1% slump in the first five months of 2004. Accordingly, ground travel increased by 11%. Looking to the region’s future prosperity and safety, CDERA, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Relief Agency, is formulating plans to implement an early alert system for marine earthquakes, in view of the recent tragedy in Southeast Asia.
Copa Adds Flights to Brazil and Argentina
In light of Honduras’s growing tourism relations with Argentina and Brazil, Copa Airlines will soon begin offering connecting flights between Honduras and the gateway cities of Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
China Grants Venezuela Authorized Travel Destination Status
China has just given Venezuela the Authorized Travel Destination Status (ATDS), making it the seventh Latin American nation on that list. The distinction is expected to generate 600 million US Dollars annually for Venezuelan tourism, with 100,000 visitors spending $600 per capita.
Venezuela INVESTS in Tourism Promotion
The Venezuelan government will invest over $156 million for tour and travel advertisement in an effort to attract more foreign travelers and put its own destinations on the map. Most plans for the upcoming year are focused on the opening of new travel destinations, like the Manaos-Margarita Axis, a combination that will benefit both Venezuela and Brazil.
Chile, Argentina Prepare for Open Skies
Aviation authorities from Chile and Argentina have started negotiations for possible bilateral opening of their airspace.
New Jetliners for TACA
TACA Airlines has just signed a contract to purchase 26 Airbus aircraft with a delivery deadline expiring in the year 2009. The agreement will allow TACA to count on five A319, sixteen A320 and five A321 planes in the near future. With that new fleet in place, TACA will be the first carrier in the Caribbean region to cover its routes with these huge 197-seat jetliners.
Ecuador Longs to be Among Top Destinations
Ecuador has launched an aggressive promotional campaign in Europe and the Americas to position the country as a leading destination. To facilitate these efforts, the Tourism Ministry will be opening information offices with the support of global travel PR agencies in the following 15 target countries: United States, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Holland, and Belgium.
High Occupancy for Punta del Este
The Uruguayan resort town of Punta del Este, considered by some to be the South American Riviera, has recently been recording impressive numbers in hotel occupancy, with nearly sold out weekends. Argentine, Chilean, and Brazilian visitors are feeding these strong rates, which seem to be bolstering numbers for neighboring towns as well. Particularly profiting from Punta del Este’s popularity is the vacation town of Piriapolis, which has experienced full occupancy in part due to Punta del Este’s diverted holiday traffic.
Mexico City Airport In Top 50
With 22 millions passengers transported annually, Mexico City International Airport ranks among the top 50 airports in the world and figures as the most important in Latin America. The rankings were compiled by Airports Council International and by Wide Airport Traffic Statistics, the two primary institutions in charge of tracking activity within the industry.
A New LLC is Born
In the competitive world of aviation, the ever expanding branch of low cost carriers (LLC) appears to be adding one more airline to its numbers. Fort Worth-based Grupo Ashco is developing the new Mexus airline, which will fly Mexico-US routes, hence its contracted moniker. Ashco intends to set Mexus apart from the competition by designing the airline according to the real demands of its particular market. In that vein, Ashco has already begun conducting online surveys to anticipate the preferences of their future passengers.
Theme Park for Panama
Announcing plans for future improvements to Panama’s tourism industry, Minister of Tourism, Ruben Blades, has expressed his desire for a major theme park, in the manner of Disney. The celebrated actor/musician and former presidential candidate also aims to see the ambitious Kuna Yala project to fruition, whereby the Colon province would finally be connected with the indigenous area of Kuna Yala bordering the Atlantic Coast.
Tourists Ignore Rio de Janeiro Crime
Tourists do not seem to be put off by Rio de Janeiro’s high crime rate, as the city is expecting 15% more visitors to this year’s Carnival celebration, according to the Brazilian Tourism Department. Reported crimes against tourists in Rio have hovered at close to 3,000 cases in Rio annually since 2003.
Latin America: Migration and Displacement
“About 20m people from Latin America and the Caribbean have gone to live and work outside the region. Another 2m or so have emigrated to other countries within the regions. Within national boundaries, over the most recent decade as many as 73m people have relocated, some seeking improved economic conditions, many others displaced by conflict of natural disaster. Emigration seems likely to continue for some time.” LatinNews.com
Venezuela Ambassador to Bogotá Recalled
“Venezuela recalled its ambassador to Bogota and suspended commercial relations with Colombia. The countries’ dispute arose after Colombia acknowledged that it paid a bounty to have Rodrigo Granda, a top member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), captured in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, last month and taken to the Colombian border, where he was arrested.” News.scotsman.com
False Alarm in Chile
“Thousands of panicking people in southern Chile have fled their homes after a false tsunami alarm. Local authorities tried in vain to reassure the population, describing the alarm as "a bad joke". One emergency worker said media coverage of the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean had created psychosis in Chile, which is one of the most seismically-active countries in the world.” BBC
Chile President to Sign Draft FTA with India
“On his first official trip abroad in 2005, Chilean president Ricardo Lagos will sign a framework free trade agreement with India. After the framework agreement is signed, a timeline will be set for negotiations that are expected to lead to a partial free trade deal. Chile depends on foreign trade for 70% of its gross domestic product (GDP). Hence, arriving at new trade agreements and making headway in the markets of Asia are considered to be of vital importance to that country. Since signing its first trade accord with Mexico in 1991, Chile has gone on to enter similar deals with all Latin American countries, including a 1996 agreement that made Chile an associate member of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In 1996, Chile also negotiated a free trade treaty with Canada, while the association agreement with the EU entered into effect in 2003. The free trade pact with the US came in to being in January 2004, followed by a trade treaty with South Korea, the first with an Asian nation.
The Chilean economy is in the midst of a process of opening, of negotiating trade deals, of pursuing the reduction of tariffs and para-tariff barriers. The most immediate objective is India, where the average import tariff is 28%, with duties of 50.8% on copper and 212% on fine wines - two of the products that Chile especially wants to export to India.” Financialexpress.com
Brazil: Presidential Jet Caught in Political Storm
“At a cost of $57 million, critics say that buying the top-of-the-range Airbus runs counter to President Lula da Silva’s commitment to cut back on government expenditure, and costs more than the Government spent last year on social programmes. The new aircraft can carry 55 passengers and contains meeting rooms, an intensive-care unit, a communications centre and a bedroom and shower for the President. With a range of almost 9,000 miles, it can fly the globe- trotting Senhor da Silva non-stop to Europe or North America. Critics have contrasted this luxury with Senhor da Silva’s frequent references to his disadvantaged background and campaign commitments to do more for Brazil’s millions of poor. But the President’s office has defended the jet, saying that it was necessary to replace the previous aircraft.” Timesonline.com
Germans to Build South America's Longest Bridge
“A consortium led by German construction giant Hochtief has won a €400-million ($524-million) contract to build and operate South America's longest bridge in Chile.... The 2.6-kilometer bridge will link the mainland with Chile's biggest island, Chiloe, and will form part of the legendary Panamericana highway, Hochtief said in a statement. Work on the bridge, which will also include 16.4 kilometers in access roads, would begin in the second half of 2007. The bridge was scheduled to come into operation in 2012. The consortium, which is called Hochtief PPP Solutions and is 27-percent owned by Hochtief, will operate the bridge for a period of 30 years, the statement added.” Newscuts.com
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CURIOSIDADES
With a 120% gain, in US Dollar terms, Colombia has ranked first in the Economist list of the Best Performing Stock Markets for 2004. Of the 40 countries tracked by the UK financial magazine, China placed last for the second year running, reporting a 15% drop in share prices despite continuous economic growth. The US ranked 37 with a 9% gain. Other Latin American countries in the top 10 were Peru (6), Venezuela (8) and Mexico (9). Chile (14), Brazil (16), and Argentina (21) occupied higher rankings than France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, or Britain.