September 1, 2007 www.LatinEPR.com

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Latin America: Recovery in the Wake of Natural Disasters

On August 15, the Peruvian region of Ica was rocked by a massive 7.9 earthquake, which left more than 500 dead, 1,000 injured, and another 30,000 to 80,000 homeless. As the region continued to be hit by strong aftershocks and hunger began to unsettle the affected communities, global outpour of support was swift, with aid arriving from as far as Singapore, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Chile’s contribution of 20 tons of aid to Peruvian victims prompted Peru’s President Alan Garcia to travel to the border between the two oft-disputing nations, in order to promote reconciliation and further economic integration. The August earthquake is Peru’s worst in more than 30 years and will require extensive restoration of road, water, and electrical networks. In the short term, its effects will be felt in reduced exportation of agricultural products and textiles, due to power and labor shortages.

In mid-August, Hurricane Dean, the first major storm of the 2007 hurricane season, wreaked havoc in the Caribbean and the Yucatan Peninsula, causing close to 30 deaths, and destroying about 90,000 homes in Mexico alone. Hurricane Dean, which built up to a category 5 storm in the Caribbean, was down-graded to a tropical depression by the time it drenched the mountainous areas of the Yucatan, but heavy rains led to fatal mudslides and flooding. The area has lost 400 square miles of crops, and according to early insurance estimates from Risk Management Solution, damages in Mexico could add up to $1.5 billion.

Carola Perla, Editor

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LATIN AMERICA - NEWS BRIEFS

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

Latin Broadband Doubles

There are likely to be 16.4 million broadband subscriptions in Latin America in 2007, an increase of 34.9% from last year, reported Latin Business Chronicle recently. The article quotes figures from Strategy Analytics that project broadband subscriptions in Latin America and the Caribbean will double by 2011, reaching 35 million or more. According to Strategy Analytics, the 5-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (2007-2011) of 23.6% for the region is the second-highest in the world, surpassed only by Central/Eastern Europe.

Google Favorite among Affluent Consumers in Latin America

Google is the preferred website for affluent consumers in the leading Latin American economies of Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, according to a new media market survey conducted by research company Synovate. The study examines the media consumption patterns of the 7.6 million affluent adults and top management and business decision makers in the region’s top three economies. According to the study’s findings, Google is the most frequently used website in Argentina (53.4% of affluent users) and Brazil (50.1%), and second most frequently used website in Mexico (29%), where affluent users tend towards Yahoo (though only by a margin of 1.5%). In Brazil, Terra.com and UOL.com are close favorites (35% and 37%, respectively). In Argentina it is Yahoo.com (32.2%). The importance of such findings, according to Steve Garton, Global Head of Media for Synovate, is that it helps marketers understand consumers, particularly as Latin America emerges as an “important player in the global economy.” Affluent consumers, says Garton, are typically the trend-setters and early product adopters. Incidentally, as far as TV consumption is concerned, Discovery Channel is the most-watched TV channel in Brazil and Mexico, and a runner-up in Argentina.

Brazil to Become World’s Third Largest Computer Market

Brazil is expected to become the world's third largest market for computers in 2010, according to a recent report in English.eastday.com. Brazil currently stands in seventh position behind the US, China, Japan, the UK, Germany, and France. English.eastday.com, the Shanghai-based online daily cites an announcement by Intel's Director General for Latin America, Ricardo Carreon, who revealed that Brazil’s average growth in the computer industry is surpassing the total world average by 10%. Intel expects the Brazilian computer market on the whole to grow 20% over the next three years, with computer retail increasing 30% in that period. Furthermore, the company reveals that 78% of Brazilians who bought a computer in 2006 chose to purchase a new model instead of a used one, up from 75% the previous year. Broadband connection has also increased from 10% to 26% in the past year, revealing that Brazilians are using their computers for more sophisticated purposes like downloading music and videos, uploading digital photos to websites, and interactions on online communities. Laptops with Internet connections, in particular, have risen from 75% to 90%, reflecting investment in wireless technology. Intel’s President in Brazil, Oscar Clark, attributes Brazil’s successful market to four factors, namely the devaluation of the US dollar against the local currency, the struggle to ban an underground market, tax incentives, and the greater offer of credits to consumers.

TRAVEL

2009: Destination Amazonia Year

This past month, member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (OTCA) announced a new project, 2009: Destination Amazonia Year, with the idea of promoting the region as a sustainable tourism destination. With the help of various tourism agencies and the individual member countries, the OTCA hopes to raise visibility of the Amazon in the global tourism market and increase tourist visits, all within a sustainable scheme that maintains the integrity of the rainforest as well as the economy. The project will most likely involve an international conference. Other celebrations include a gastronomic festival in Bolivia. The Andean nation shares part of the Amazon with Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela. In total, the Amazon embraces almost 40% of South American territory and has some 30 million inhabitants. Its sheer size, according to the World Tourism Organization, means that it can handle a much higher level of tourism than it has so far received. Naturally, it is difficult to predict the impact of such development, thus the OTCA’s emphasis on sustainability. But to many, sustainable tourism, which can educate as well as provide important income for the region’s inhabitants, must seem an attractive alternative to other established industries, like logging and oil.

On-time Copa Airlines Adds New Flights

This past month, Copa airlines introduced four weekly direct flights between Panama City and Cordoba, Argentina. The ever-expanding airline, whose on-time performance remains one of the best in the industry (87.83% in the second quarter of this year, with 99.35% rate of completion), has also announced a new service starting December 15^th, 2007, that will connect its Panamanian hub to Port-of-Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.

Chile Resumes Global Tourism Campaign

(Mercopress) – Following three years of silence, mostly because of a lack of funding, Chile is finally launching a consumer media campaign to attract more tourists from Germany, United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom, revealed Oscar Santelices head of the Chilean Tourist Office, Sernatur. Chile’s tourist activity during the first half of this year has been very encouraging with a 12% increase, according to the latest release from the World Tourism Organization. “Chile expands with the Latin American market which is good but it’s important to check with the European and US markets where demand has dropped significantly. Tourism growth from Europe has dropped to less that 5% and became negative from the US”, said Santelices. Guillermo Correa, president of Achet the company organizing the recent Chilean National Tourism Congress, said that “growth prospects for the tourism industry are encouraging with rate growths in the range of 10.5% annually for the next ten years”. This means that in 2006, tourism was more important than the wine industry for Chile. Tourism represented 1.5 billion US dollars and wine exports just below a billion US dollars, following on Central Bank data. The congress featured a special session dedicated to new challenges for the industry particularly internet but “statistics show that travel agencies continue as the consumers’ preferred option because of the added value involved”, said Correa.

Foreign Arrivals to Argentina Increase by 17.4%

The number of foreign tourists arriving at Argentina’s main international airport in Buenos Aires reached 1,037,226 in the first half of 2007, marking a 17.4% increased over the same period the previous year, according to the Argentine Tourism Secretariat. Alone this past June, arrivals were up 24.1% over the same month in 2006. Brazil leads these tourism arrivals, followed by the US, Chile, Peru, and Spain.

Costa Rica and Mexico among Top Honeymoon Destinations

Costa Rica, Mexico, and Anguila ranked among the top 10 best honeymoon destinations in Modern Bride’s annual “World’s Best Honeymoons” survey. Costa Rica came in at No. 4, an improvement over last year’s No. 10 spot, while Mexico followed close behind at No. 5. Anguila slotted into No.8. The Latin American and Caribbean countries also did well with readers in the magazine’s other “bests”. Mexico topped the list of the most affordable honeymoon destination, which also included the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica was named the best place for adventure, and Caneel Bay, St. John, in the US Virgin Islands was voted to have the best beach. The overall winner of the survey was Italy, a first for the country which managed to usurp the spot from Hawaii. Till now, the US island state had been voted top destination every year for the past decade.

Carnival to Carry Record 2.9 Million on Caribbean Cruises in 2007

Carnival Cruise Line’s record-breaking 2007 Caribbean cruise season, during which it will carry an unprecedented 2.9 million passengers within the region – the most in its 35-year history – is a strong indication that the Caribbean cruise industry is strong despite a slight downturn this past year. According to statistics from the Cruise Lines International Association, the Caribbean is the most sought-after cruise destination, with the region featured on roughly half of all itineraries of North American cruise operators. Carnival’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Vicki Freed, attributes the cruise industry come back to the cruise vacation’s strong value appeal as well as the Caribbean’s growing image as not just a beach destination but a culturally rich one with historical attractions and landmarks.

LAN Peru Introduces Direct Flights to Europe

For the first time in the company’s 8-year history, LAN Peru is offering direct flights to Europe. The airline commenced the three weekly flights between Lima and Madrid this August. Equipped with modern Airbus A319, which were recently incorporated into its fleet, the airline now services international routes to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, the US, Spain, and Venezuela.

ECONOMY AND POLITICS

Argentina Wants Venezuela, Mexico in Mercosur

Over the past month, Mercosur member country, Argentina has made clear statements of support for the ratification of Venezuela as a full member and for Mexico’s invitation to join the organization. According to Prensa Latina, Argentina voiced its support for Venezuela during a recent ministerial visit to Brasilia - Venezuela is still awaiting the approval of Brazil and Paraguay for integration into Mercosur - and the media outlet even went so far as to project that as a result, Venezuela should soon be accepted. President Kirchner reiterated this support while Chavez was visiting Argentina this month to sign the new Energy Security Treaty, which guarantees Argentina’s fuel supply. Kirchner also pledged his support of Mexico during a recent conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Mexico could possibly experience a smoother acceptance into Mercosur than Venezuela, having this August also received the important endorsement of Brazil.

Work Comes First for Women in Bolivia

(IPS) – The National Survey on Women’s Perceptions of Exclusion and Discrimination found that in the life plans of most women in Bolivia, work comes first, and a decreasing number have plans based exclusively on marriage or motherhood. The survey, carried out by the non-governmental Coordinadora de la Mujer, indicates that barely 7% percent of the interviewees said their priority was having a partner and children, "which was the main characteristic of the life plans of Bolivian women two decades ago," the study says. In contrast, working or studying was the top priority for 56% of respondents. However, 28% said they thought combining work, a partner and children was the formula for happiness. "This is important, as it shows that being a wife and mother is an integral part of being a woman," said the Coordinadora de la Mujer. That traditional women’s roles are being displaced by other aspirations is an important step towards gender equity, the head of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)’s Women and Development Unit, Sonia Montaño, told IPS. The share of women in waged employment is one of the indicators for monitoring achievement of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000, with most targets to be fulfilled by 2015 with respect to 1990 indicators. The MDGs are a worldwide commitment to halving hunger and extreme poverty by 2015, and include the goal of gender equity.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

Argentina Wants Venezuela, Mexico in Mercosur

Work Comes First for Women in Bolivia

Colombia Leads World in Public Holidays

Colombia leads the world in public holidays with 18 each year, a recent Associated Press report revealed. It is followed by Slovenia (16), Slovakia, Cyprus, and Chile, each with 15, according to a new study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. In Colombia these three-day vacations, or ‘puentes’, commemorate Catholic saints for the most part, and are mandatory for the formal work sector, though they do not apply to the poorly paid in the informal economy, the street merchants, security guards, and taxi drivers. The report contends that so many breaks are having adverse affects on the economy, and Economics Professor at Andes University in Bogota, Juan Carlos Echeverry states that these frequent federal holidays are crushing productivity. However, Echeverry also says they may be the reason that, “survey after survey, Colombians are rated among the happiest people in the world.” The sheer number of holidays in the Andean nation is a result of a 1983 law to stimulate domestic tourism, a law which President Alvaro Uribe has tried to overturn without success. On a side note, the report finds that despite the number of holidays in Colombia, Finland and France are a true worker’s paradise. According to Mercer, these countries lead the world with 30 paid vacation days a year. In comparison, Colombia enjoys only 15 and the US officially none.

Mexican Billionaire to Donate Laptops

Mexican billionaire and telecom mogul, Carlos Slim, has pledged to donate 250,000 laptop computers to Mexican children by the end of this year, a US$70 million investment, and as many as 1 million in 2008. Slim, who could soon overtake Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, says ‘digital education is key’ to reducing poverty, and is also intent on building specialized preschools that would train poor children in math, language, and computers. For now, the donated laptops will be installed in school libraries, to be lent out like books, with wireless networks set up for the machines to connect. In the future, Slim’s computer program would distribute the machines to children individually.