The head of an organization representing some of Latin America’s most popular destinations is calling on the UK government not to forget the region ahead of a national travel industry day.
The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) has highlighted the challenges the region will face when the aviation and travel industries come together to put pressure on the government to encourage a safe return to international travel.
Figures show that only nine newcomers from the region tested positive for Covid in May and June.
With almost all of Latin America on the British government’s red list, travel to the continent has more or less come to a standstill. LATA members based in both the UK and Latin America report an average drop in revenue of 85 percent year-over-year pandemic levels and 63 percent downsizing.
Almost a third of LATA members based in Latin America had no tourism activities in the past year.
Danny Callaghan, CEO of LATA, said: “As of February 25, the NHS has recorded arrivals from 22 Latin American countries.
“Of these, there was not a single positive test from 15 countries. In the period from May 20 to June 9, 1,221 passengers arriving from Latin America were registered, of whom only nine people tested positive; three people from Colombia and six people from Brazil.
“No other Latin American country tested positive. Of these nine positive cases, none were recorded as variants of interest or concern.
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“Even so, almost all of Latin America remains on the British government’s red list. At LATA, we urge the government to base its decisions on the epidemiological situation and associated risks in each country, rather than blanket bans.
“We want transparency in the criteria on which these travel restrictions are based, and we want travel to return in a safe and risk-controlled manner by demonstrably expanding the Green List and making the restrictions more proportionate. keep a red list to protect yourself against risk variants. “
More than 20 LATA members will come together today (Wednesday) on the day of action in Westminster to raise awareness of these issues.