Avanti has added 13 new itineraries, 46 new hotels and 17 new experiences to help agents create customized vacations for independent travel clients and custom groups.
The new additions to its Central and South American product lineup all emphasize experiences that are cultural, culinary, off-the-beaten-path and community-based, and advisors can combine and custom tailor for their clients in 2020 and 2021.
Avanti sells exclusively through travel advisors and has created a 100-page, four-color brochure, Essence of Central & South America 2020-2021, that can be passed along to their clients. The brochure features useful maps, tables of air and car travel times between destinations, and short feature articles by Avanti employees, focusing on select destinations and favorite experiences.
“Argentina has been tremendously popular this past year, and we expect this trend to continue,” said Avanti’s CEO, Paul Barry in a press release statement. “The dollar is very strong, and the average value of bookings to this region has increased substantially, as travelers ask agents for more private tours, private transfers and more luxurious accommodations. Now that Brazil dropped their visa requirement for American visitors, we anticipate growth in bookings there in 2020 and beyond. Our strongest sellers in South America remain Peru and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, while Costa Rica and Belize are the most frequently booked Central America destinations.”
Three of the new experiences directly benefit local indigenous communities and give clients a rare cross-cultural immersion opportunity, such as an overnight stay in Karanki Magdalena village on the slopes of Ecuador’s Imbabura volcano nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Other options include an overnight stay with Misminay villagers outside of Cuzco, Peru, where clients can learn about traditional healing techniques; and a private cooking class in Pucon (Chile) that showcases the traditional cuisine of the indigenous Mapuche and Pehuenche peoples using wild, native ingredients, such as the nuts from the monkey puzzle tree.
Itineraries range in length from one or two overnight stays to nine nights. They may be combined with other short or long itineraries, and agents can add other activities, transfers and destinations to create one-of-a-kind vacations.
Examples include ‘Argentina: Flavors of Argentina’, a 7-days/6-nights tour of Mendoza and Buenos Aires that explores the Italian, French, Spanish and Latin American culinary influences on Argentine cuisine, plus cooking classes and wine tasting. While ‘Peru: Chiclayo and Trujillo’ is a 3 days/2 nights tour that explores the pre-Columbian/pre-Inca ruins left by ancient cultures such as the Moche, Lambayeque, and Chimú, dating back 2,000 years.
For more information visit Avanti’s travel agent portal book.avantidestinations.com
