As we near the end of the year, specialist tour operator Journey Latin America has shared their insights into what clients are booking in 2023 and why, as well as their thoughts on other travel trends for the coming year.

SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL

Travelling sustainably remains important to Journey Latin America's clients with 78% of clients booking accommodation and experiences where they can be confident their presence will have a positive impact on local communities, wildlife and the environment. Participating in community projects in Guatemala, taking indigenous-led excursions in the Amazon and assisting with the rewilding of jaguars in Brazil's Pantanal were among the top experiences taken in 2023 by their clients.

GOURMET TRAILS

Latin America is fast gaining an excellent reputation for its food, bolstered further this year with Peru's Central winning the World's 50 Best Restaurants. New culinary developments in Latin America have opened up further opportunities to sample the region's delights including wineries in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay offering first-class accommodation accompanied by world-class dining, cookery courses led by expert chefs in Mexico and Argentina and guided foodie walking tours to discover under-the-radar eateries.

SELF-DRIVE ADVENTURES

Self-drive holidays in staggeringly beautiful, off-the-beaten-track locations such as Patagonia, the Ecuadorian Andes and Colombia's coffee region are becoming increasingly popular. For example, in 2023, 48% of Patagonian holiday itineraries included at least 5 days of self-drive with the lake district featuring as the most popular location in Argentina and Chile to hire a car.

LUXURY WILDERNESS ESCAPES

Located in some of the continent's furthest reaches, Latin America has an impressive growing portfolio of luxury wilderness lodges that mix sustainability with sophistication. With the average client spending 20% more on their holidays per person in 2023, the demand for stays in luxury lodges where clients can be truly immersed in nature has never been greater. For example, 2023 saw the openings of Explora El Chaltén in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina, Casa Chablé in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico's Yucatán and Peru's first luxury tented camp, Puqio opened in the Colca Canyon last month - all three properties offer visitors the unique opportunity to explore these pristine wildernesses in complete comfort and style.

TOP DESTINATIONS IN 2023:

Top destinations for 2023 travel include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Mexico. Colombia, Guyana and Paraguay saw the biggest increase in new bookings in 2023. The average duration for a 2023 holiday itinerary is 20 days, up from 17 days in 2022. The average number of countries explored per trip has also increased to almost 2% from three destinations to four in 2023.

WHERE'S HOT IN 2024

ARGENTINA

Argentina has been a long-standing favourite destination to visit in South America however this year, bookings have almost doubled. The gaucho-famed country offers a variety of natural wonders from the shimmering glaciers in the south to the thundering waterfalls of Iguazú in the north. Add to that, award-winning wine, juicy steak, tango as well as extraordinary wildlife including penguins, elephant seals and whales and it's not hard to see why Argentina holds such great appeal across the generations. Furthermore, the depreciation of the Argentinian Peso against the USD as well as a newly launched exchange rate to benefit exclusively holders of foreign credit cards means that British travellers get better value when travelling in Argentina.

PERU

With the much-anticipated Paddington 3 movie, 'Paddington in Peru' due to be released in November 2024, Central winning the number one spot in the World's 50 Best Restaurants list this year and with LATAM launching a new direct flight from Heathrow to Lima on 2nd December, we anticipate bookings to Peru to soar in 2024.

MEXICO

New for 2024 is the Tren Maya which will offer visitors the unique opportunity to explore the Yucatán Peninsula by rail. Seven rail routes will link the archaeological site of Palenque to Chetumal on the border with Belize. Travellers will be able to stop at key destinations along the route such as Mérida, Cancún and Tulúm. In addition, eclipse followers will be drawn to Baja California in spring where a total solar eclipse is scheduled to take place on 8th April with the best visibility expected in Los Cabos.

COSTA RICA

Travel to Costa Rica in 2024 is already looking to be as popular as 2023 with some favourite properties already sold out for key periods such as Easter, Summer and Christmas. Families are opting to book Costa Rica over any other Latin American destination and long-term planning is therefore essential to guarantee a client's preferred accommodation and secure the best flight availability.