Last week’s Latin American Travel Association Expo gave destinations the chance to highlight new and exciting tourism updates.
Here’s Travel Gossip’s pick of what’s new in the region.
#1 Galapagos Islands
Go Galapagos will commence tours in November on its boutique expedition cruise ship, the 100-passenger Galapagos Legend. Guests can use the scuba and snorkelling equipment provided to get close to marine life, then relax onboard watching the world go by through panoramic balcony windows. Experienced naturalists on board will offer a range of excursions and presentations.
Hurtigruten is launching Galapagos Islands cruises in January 2022, in partnership with Metropolitan Touring, onboard the newly renovated 90-passenger Santa Cruz II expedition vessel (pictured, above).
#2 Colombia
Metropolitan Touring, and luxury river cruise operator AmaWaterways will launch the first luxury river cruise experience in Colombia in December 2023. The new custom-built vessel will allow up to 80 guests to explore Colombia’s mystical Magdalena River on two distinct seven-night itineraries. Pricing and booking information will be announced later this year.
#3 Argentina
Argentina has just opened Villavicencio Park located within the Villavicencio Private Natural Reserve, 50 kilometers from Mendoza, the world-renowned wine gateway. The park features ziplining, a network of bike routes, a mini-park for kids and truck rides around the reserve.
#4 Costa Rica
Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas is bringing its first property to Central America with the opening of Six Senses Papagayo in Costa Rica, in 2022. The site will stretch from the highest point of the Peninsula Papagayo, offering 360-degree views of the Guanacaste archipelago, to a forested beachfront with 41 poolside villas. There’ll be Six Senses’ signature wellness programme, along with a spa and fitness centre and a variety of other activities, plus an organic farm, supplying produce for food and treatments.
#5 Peru
Belmond Hiram Bingham, the luxury train to Machu Picchu, resumed a partial service, running on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays on 1 July 2021. From 1 July 2022, it will resume normal operations all week. Meanwhile, Belmond Andean Explorer Peru will also be back up and running from the end of March 2022.
#6 Belize
Belize Tourism Board will host the Belize Virtual EXPO on 17 and 18 November, with new product development, adventure experiences, as well as details of new diving sites, such as the Wit Concrete shipwreck dive site in October 2021. A Garifuna Trail, celebrating the Garifuna people, who trace their ancestory back to West African and indigenous Arawaks, is in development.
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