Tourism from Latin America to the Caribbean is growing eight percent each year, and carriers from that region invested $14 billion in new planes last year alone.
These impressive statistics were revealed during an address at Routes Americas 2012 by the executive director of the Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).
Alex de Gunten sat down with Guardian Business to discuss the future of arguably the most important region for tourism growth in The Bahamas.
The executive director said Routes Americas is an essential moment for the county to build on the momentum created by Copa Airlines.
Arrivals in Nassau through Copa surged 38 percent in 2011, according the Ministry of Tourism.
"It's amazing you have Copa here because Copa covers all of those countries in South America. It will allow you to see all of the traffic and see how the product is welcomed in those countries," he explained. "It's a great door opener. It allows the travel agencies to test the waters.
"I think a lot of people here are looking forward to meeting with Latin American carriers."
These sentiments are consistent with comments made by Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, the minister of tourism and aviation, who told Guardian Business on Tuesday he could envision two daily flights from Panama to fill the demand.
"So many countries in South America can connect through there.  So I believe we are still only scratching the surface, in terms of cultivating centers such as Brazil or Colombia.  We want to see them become non-stop service, or perhaps through Panama," he said.
Gunten was reluctant to speculate which markets in Latin America will emerge as major tourism contributors first.  But he did note that airlines such as Copa and TAM Airlines still have a relatively small market share compared to U.S. carriers.  He anticipated, based on demand and investment, a dramatic rebalancing will occur over the coming years.
The gross domestic product (GDP) in Latin America and foreign trade continues to rise, he added.  Inflation has also gone down dramatically, he noted, and all of that has helped reduce poverty.
"This has increased the size of the middle class and people who can travel to the region," he told Guardian Business.
In fact, according to ALTA, in 2011 up to 10 million Brazilians got in a plane for the first time.  A staggering 30 million Brazilians joined the middle class over the last seven years.
With the exception of China, Gunten said this level of growth is unrivaled in the world.
While $14 million was spent on planes in the region last year, $35 billion worth was purchased between 2006 and 2010, the ALTA chief explained.
"The fleet in Latin America is younger than the North American or European fleet," he said. "There has been great investment into the region."
But has the growth been too fast?
Gunten expressed concern as to whether the authorities and regulators will keep up with the rapid development of the airline industry.
In Europe, he noted that political integration happened first, which was followed by airline integration and the removal of barriers to make flights between countries more seamless.
He said Latin America still remains "fragmented".
Differing regulations, licensing and certifications between Latin American nations still make flying more costly and inefficient than it needs to be, he argued.
"So airlines are poised to keep growing," Gunten said.
"Our big question is whether the region will keep up.  Will all of the other things that are needed be there in a few years?  Hopefully we can work together to make sure that happens."

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