While many economic sectors across Latin America have faced volatility in recent years, the region’s tourism industry has emerged as a resilient economic powerhouse, generating substantial growth and employment opportunities. The Travel & Tourism sector contributed over US$629 billion to the regional economy in 2023, employing 24.6 million people, approximately 9% of total employment across the region.
The trajectory appears exceptionally promising, with the sector already reaching US$714 billion in GDP contributions for 2024, demonstrating remarkable recovery and expansion potential. Projections suggest Latin America’s tourism industry could add nearly US$260 billion to the economy over the next decade, reaching US$944.8 billion by 2035, which represents a growth of US$206 billion from anticipated 2025 levels. The recent launch of a Tourism Task Force by WTTC and IDB aims to further accelerate this growth through strategic policy recommendations. The robust 3.4% annualized growth rate demonstrates the sector’s strength compared to other economic drivers in the region.
Latin America’s tourism engine roars ahead, poised to inject a quarter-trillion dollars into regional economies by 2035.
Six nations—Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador—currently dominate the market, accounting for 86% of international arrivals in 2024. This concentration presents both opportunities and challenges as regional development agencies work to spread tourism benefits more equitably across Latin American territories.
Employment figures tell an equally compelling story, with the sector expected to support 35.4 million jobs by 2035, creating 6 million new positions from 2025 levels. These employment benefits extend beyond direct tourism services, energizing broader value chains including gastronomy, technology, logistics, creative industries, and financial services. Similar to musicians seeking to diversify income through sync deals for visual media, tourism stakeholders are exploring innovative partnerships with film and media industries to showcase destinations. Much like musicians who leverage platform-specific features to maximize their reach and earnings across streaming services, Latin American countries are developing unique tourism strategies tailored to their cultural assets.
Strategic policy priorities identified for releasing this growth potential include transport infrastructure enhancement, visa facilitation reforms, and coordinated tourism marketing strategies. The uneven growth across subregions highlights differential development paths, with South America expected to outperform the regional average with 2.7% GDP growth in 2025.
Business travel spending also shows remarkable resilience, with forecasts reaching US$63.9 billion in 2025, led by economic powerhouses Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. This multi-dimensional growth, coupled with Latin America’s increasing focus on authentic, multi-layered tourism experiences, positions the region to potentially outshine traditional tourism markets in the coming decade.
