Central and South America have much
untapped potential in the luxury travel niche, according to Timothy
Scott, editor of Luxury Latin America, a Web site that launched
this spring.
Scott has been a
travel writer for 15 years and has written hotel and city reviews
for media including Star Service Online and Weissmann Travel
Reports, both owned by Northstar Travel Media, parent company of
Travel Weekly.
He said that the
new site, at Luxurylatinamerica.com, aims to "filter" information
to provide details and reviews that will be of use to both
consumers and industry insiders looking for upscale travel products
in Latin America.
It has taken
Central and South America some time to get to the point where it
can truly be marketed as a luxury destination, according to
Scott.
"In the last half
of the 20th century, there was so much fighting and civil war going
on in various places that it was hard for most of these
destinations to draw anyone beyond backpackers and other intrepid
explorers, especially in Central America," Scott said.
"As things calm
down, an area is naturally more attractive to investors and tour
operators. Because of this, the places that have been most stable,
like Costa Rica, Belize and Mexico, are further along the time line
on taking care of luxury travelers. Many others are just getting
started. Luxury travelers aren't immune to the urge to go somewhere
exotic and different though, so all of the markets we're covering
are seeing an uptick at the top end of the scale."
These factors made
it a good time to launch a Web site dedicated solely to luxury
travel in Latin America, according to Scott.
"There are a lot of
converging trends that made the time seem right," he said. "The
main ones are that there is more interest in Latin American cuisine
beyond Mexican, a dramatic increase in travel to the region by
North Americans and more flight options coming on line every
quarter.
"As more Americans
and Canadians realize the advantages of traveling to this region,
from a cost standpoint as well as a time zone standpoint, I believe
the numbers will keep rising."
The ones to watch
So what
destinations will grow fastest in the luxury segment?
"Mexico is the
leader by far for a lot of reasons, but Argentina has been booming
the past few years, and all the pieces are in place there already
to please picky travelers who don't want to make any sacrifices,"
Scott said.
"Costa Rica
continues to be hot for those who are looking for nature and
adventure, and the country is way beyond others when it comes to
ecotourism and green practices.
"Upscale, boutique
hotels continue to pop up in Belize," Scott added, "and you see a
lot of high-end diving and fishing trips."
Tour operators and
other suppliers have increasingly taken note of the region's
potential, according to Scott.
"What the good tour
providers and hotels have done in Latin America is play to their
strengths," he said. "[Hotels] use a lower labor cost to provide
more interesting rooms in the construction phase and more personal
service after opening."
Scott said making
things "interesting" is an important selling point.
"The hotels try to
work in a lot of local elements in terms of art and decoration, and
most of the upscale tours really try to draw people into the
culture of the area," he said. "I believe this all ties into the
trend of tourists searching for a more authentic
experience.
"Many lodges and tour companies
in Central America were green before it was fashionable, so that
area certainly ties into the consumer shift to being more conscious
about waste and sustainability."
While upscale
properties are popping up with increasing frequency, there is still
plenty of growth potential, especially for international brands,
according to Scott.
"I'm surprised,
actually, that the big chains have been so slow on the uptake for
Latin America," he said. "There must be 40 hip boutique hotels in
Buenos Aires now, and nearly all of them are
independent.
"Apart from Mexico,
where you find some interesting Starwood Luxury Collection hotels,
the international chains have mostly limited themselves to boring
business hotels that look the same as they would in Cleveland or
Miami.
"Of course, this
goes to the inherent problem: Many luxury travelers don't want to
travel to a historic, colonial city just to stay in a boxy glass
tower with no character. The international chain hotels that
succeed at the high end are usually the ones that have taken over a
historic structure and kept a sense of place."
Challenges
There are still
challenges as destinations evolve and attract more travelers, Scott
said.
"Peru has been
absorbing more and more visitors each year, but unfortunately the
demand is outstripping supply when it comes to upscale lodging.
Patagonia -- Argentina and Chile -- has been booming, which isn't
necessarily a good thing. The same with the Galapagos. At some
point, there's going to need to be a clampdown on the visitor
numbers."
And then there are
destinations like Panama, which Scott said hasn't yet lived up to
its potential.
"The one that
always perplexes travel writers is Panama," he said. "From a
natural-resources standpoint, they're almost on par with Costa
Rica, and most would argue that they have more to brag about when
it comes to beaches and islands. Their tourism bureau is either
woefully underfunded or in need of a good strategist. Because the
visitor numbers are relatively low, there are only a few upscale
hotels there."
Another region ripe
for growth, according to Scott, is Guatemala.
"I just came back
from Guatemala, which is fantastic, and was surprised that there
were so few upscale hotels in place or even in the planning stages.
If I were an investor looking five or 10 years out, that's where I
would be putting my money."
Filtering content
The new Web site
provides insight into a variety of Latin American destinations,
using various sources.
"I rely mostly on
local experts doing the reviews and my independent research," Scott
said. "Many of our writers are guidebook authors or they live at
least part of the year in the country they are covering, so they've
got strong opinions about which places deserve praise and which
don't.
"I always try to
get a few other opinions from colleagues, as well, when forming the
list, and I'm a voracious reader, both of magazines and travel Web
sites. The superior places and companies tend to win over a lot of
enthusiastic fans and get consistently good reviews from
well-heeled guests and well-traveled writers."
According to Scott,
Luxury Latin America tries to pay attention to details that other
reviewers might miss.
"We especially look
for how well [hotels] handle the little things," he said. "I
couldn't care less about the thread count on a hotel's sheets or
what kind of sparkling wine a tour leader serves at sundown. What
distinguishes the great hotels and tour companies is the service:
the abundance, training, and improvisational skill of the
management and staffers. That's where a lot of large chain hotels
really blow it."
Part of Scott's
enthusiasm for Latin America comes from his own personal
experience.
"For the past few
years, I've been traveling mostly in Latin America," he said. "It's
easy to get to, the flights aren't too ungodly long and you never
seem to move more than a time zone or two away. The lack of jet lag
is a big plus."
And there are value
and safety, two factors that can attract luxury as well as
budget-conscious travelers.
"The pummeling the
U.S. dollar has taken isn't very applicable in this region," Scott
said. "It's still a terrific bargain, even at the luxury end of the
scale.
"And this next
point would have seemed ironic 30 years ago, but Latin America now
feels safer than most other parts of the world."
To
contact reporter Mark Chesnut, send e-mail [email protected].