Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist September 2019 | Página 22

SPECIAL REPORT
Recent years have seen the
proliferation of websites
and blogs written by women
reporting their experience as
autonomous travelers, which
also manifests the impact
of female empowerment on
tourism. More frequently
women travelling alone aim to
arrange their own itinerary.
a Featured recipient country of this
type of tourism-, adventure tourism
and other nationalities.
Trends such as sustainability
and adventure tourism play an
important role in Latin American
countries, while many tourists
travel to the region in search of the
incredible nature and adventure
opportunities. Similarly, respondents
noted Voluntourism, a combination
of volunteering and tourism, as a
growing trend in the region (Trekk
Soft, 2019; Baccino, 2019).
Accompanying the general trends
in world tourism, travelers are
more aware and seek well-being.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the growth of
wellness tourism is projected to double that of tourism in
general and in 2017, sales of this type in Latin America and
the Caribbean reached 34 billion of dollars (Jessop, 2019).
In recent years, wellness trips have been developing from a
focus on being experiential to being transformative and this
evolution, together with the development of wellness tourism,
can help mitigate the negative impacts of over-tourism (Latam
Travel Agency, 2018; Powell and McGroarty, 2018-2019).
An example of this in Latin America are resorts and hotels
focused on physical exercise, hot springs, holistic spas,
natural immersion breaks, sustainable accommodation and
healthy eating, etc.
Another important trend is the surge of multigenerational
travel: baby boomers, Generation X, millennials, centennials,
each group has different interests and behaviors (Anauate,
2018). It is worth mentioning a surging global trend of
ageing population (tourists aged 50
and more), which represents a brand
new dynamic group with particular
preferences: in-person transactions,
“age-appropriate” destinations, more
spare time to travel, low seasons and
tendency to hire insurance (World
Tourism Market Latin America,
2017).
In the global context, there is
an increase in the importance of
technology in the development of
travel (Travelport, 2018). Also,
although it is far from widespread, in
Latin America you can also see the
use of digital wallets (such as Apple
Pay, Android Pay) (Schildknecht,
2018). Moreover, technology is allowing tourists to offer
experiences increasingly adapted to their particular tastes
and needs, that is, personalized.
A point of confluence of technology, well-being and
sustainability, is given by smart cities, in which information
and communication technologies and other technological
means are integrated, seeking to optimize efficiency in the
management of public services and provide systematized
information to decision making, in the face of urban
challenges. Related to this, the concept of Smart Destination
(which is the one specially prepared to facilitate and improve
the visitor experience through the application of technologies
and innovations in the environment, as well as to address
more sustainable management of local assets and natural
resources) was developed. These destinations focus on axes
that go beyond tourism management and both the smart city
and destination have synergies that are intended to improve
the lives of citizens. According to the IESE Cities in motion
ranking, in 2017 the most prominent cities in Latin America
in this regard were: Buenos Aires (Argentina), Santiago
(Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), Medellín (Colombia) and
Montevideo (Uruguay). Three of them coincide with the 27
destinations distinguished by the Tripadvisor 2017 Travel
choice (in which Buenos Aires occupies 3rd place, Santiago
de Chile 7th place and Medellin 24th place) (Guerrero and
Acosta, 2019).
At present, travel matters are considered close and
personal and thus, tourist destinations and companies are
dedicated to producing, for example, small promotional
short films, focused on “niche segments,” with an attractive
offer for different target audiences. An example of this is the
“between friends” trips, which have been setting trends for
some time in Latin America, being the case of the 15 years