Tourism Keeps Doing Well in Latin America, the Caribbean

Amid corruption scandals, political crises and other bad news coming from Latin America and the Caribbean these days, there is a bright spot that has gone almost unnoticed: tourism.

The region is benefiting from a worldwide tourism boom. Last year, the number of international travelers grew by a 20-year record of 10.3 percent, and the number of visitors to Latin America and the Caribbean grew by about the same percentage, according to the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization (WTO.)

The number of visitors to Central America grew by 17 percent, to South America by 16 percent, to Mexico by 10 percent and to the Caribbean by 6 percent, according to the WTO. Overall, countries in the region received six million additional tourists.

Some Latin American travel analysts caution that Latin America and the Caribbean are doing better than what the WTO figures suggest.

According to the International Air Transport Association, a group that represents airlines, travel to Latin America has grown by 13 percent so far this year, compared with a world average growth of 8.7 percent.