Orlando Seeks Rebound from South American Tourists

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wrapped up his first South American trade mission during the weekend, a week-long journey in which he led a delegation of nearly 200 of the state’s civic and business leaders to Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

The trip was devoted to strengthening business ties between Florida and South America in industries such as biofuel production and aircraft manufacturing. But ethanol isn’t the only thing brewing in South America.

New projections from the U.S. Commerce Department conclude that South America will be the fastest-growing region in the world for travel to the United States during the next five years.

The number of travelers visiting the U.S. from South America is expected to soar 33 percent by 2011, to nearly 2.6 million people. Travel from Europe, by contrast, which is the biggest source of overseas visitors to the U.S., is expected to grow 25 percent over the same period, though to a much larger total of 12.6 million.

Five of the 10 countries with the fastest-growing U.S. travel, according to the Commerce Department forecast, will be in South or Latin America: Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Any bounce in South American travel is bound to be good news for Orlando’s tourism industry, which has long courted the region. Tourism operators say travelers from Brazil, South America’s largest country by far, are particularly coveted because they historically spend more shopping and at attractions than visitors from other countries.

For Orlando to truly tap into the expected growth in South American travelers, however, those tourists will need more links to Orlando International Airport, tourism officials say. No airline currently flies nonstop between OIA and South America. But there are signs interest in such routes is growing.

Panama-based COPA Airlines this summer added two weekly flights, to 12 in all, between OIA and its hub in Panama City, through which it provides one-stop service to three dozen South American cities. The carrier is also in the midst of shifting all of its Orlando service to larger jets. The net effect, say OIA officials, will be to double the number of seats available on COPA flights between Orlando and Panama City.

TAM, along with most other major South American carriers, already flies to Miami International Airport. But it is interested enough in the Orlando market that it has chartered buses to carry its passengers between Miami and Orlando during particularly busy periods.