In post-COVID Latin America, investment in infrastructure can bring back tourism – and rebuild the economy

In post-COVID Latin America, investment in infrastructure can bring back tourism – and rebuild the economy

The travel and tourism sector in Latin America and the Caribbean is projected to take a $110 billion hit due to COVID-19, says a new World Economic Forum report.

Investment in infrastructure could bring back tourism as well as rebuild the economy.

Public-private partnerships, improving technology and investing in infrastructure resilience are keys to building back better in the post-pandemic world.



The COVID-19 pandemic came late to Latin America relative to other regions, but damage to public health and the economy was no less severe.

As the worst of the outbreak is contained, countries in the region will join others around the world in search of a strategy to reignite their economies. Travel and tourism present a lucrative opportunity for revival, but the industry was hit particularly hard in Latin America and the Caribbean according to the World Economic Forum's recent report, Latin America and Caribbean Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Landscape Report: Assessing Regional Opportunities and Challenges in the Context of COVID-19. In the region, the industry is projected to take a $110.2 billion loss due to the crisis, adding up to an expected drop of more than 30% in travel and tourism GDP compared to 2019.

Doubly distressing is the fact