SOUTH American destinations are seeing efforts to tap Asians pay off, even though accessibility remains an issue.
Peru Export and Tourism Promotion Board (PromPeru), for instance, has seen numbers from Asia growing significantly, albeit from a small base, and is adding China as a target market in 2015. Its work on Asia started with Japan in 2012, followed by South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
From January to August 2014, the tourism board saw a year-on-year growth of 41 per cent for Hong Kong, 10 per cent each for Singapore and South Korea, seven per cent for Taiwan and 31 per cent for China.
According to Rosana Guinea, PromPeru’s incoming tourism co-ordinator (regional manager)-Asia and Pacific, a fam trip for trade partners in South Korea this year resulted in 10 new travel agencies offering Peru-only itineraries.
Over in Argentina, the National Institute of Tourism Promotion (INPROTUR) is after South-east Asia, India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Read more in TTG-ITB Asia Daily
