MercoPress, Uruguay, July 17, 2008

Cruises calling Montevideo port

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All in all, Latin America received a record total of 68.6 million international arrivals last year, an increase of 2.9% from 2006. That was lower than the world average of 6.6% and the growth seen in all other regions.

Latin America's tourism receipts, however, grew by 9.7% to a record 58.9 billion US dollars. That means Latin America grew faster than all world regions except Asia. The growth was also higher than the world average of 5.6%.

Although Uruguay was among the losers when it comes to arrival growth - a mere 0.2% to 1.8 million last year - it managed to beat all other in receipts growth, 35% totaling 809 million US dollars. Other markets with strong performance include Argentina 29%; Panama, 23.4%; Peru, 22.9% and Guatemala, 18.4%.

Mexico remains the leading country in the region regarding arrivals and receipts. In 2007, 21.4 million international visitors arrived in the country, up 0.3% over the previous year and receipts increased 5.9% to 12.9 billion US dollars.

Other significant markets both in arrivals and receipts include Brazil, Argentina, Dominica Republic and Chile, according to Latin Business Chronicle.