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An Interesting New Decade
| While everyone was focused on China and India this past decade, Latin America took off. If you invested your money in the stock markets of this region, you did very well indeed, especially last year when most were up 50-100%. While we had a "lost decade" in the U.S., growth and prosperity took off here---except for a few backward-stepping places like Venezuela and Bolivia. This means the Latin America you knew 10 years ago is very different today: better government, better infrastructure, better banking systems, and a bigger middle class.
What this means for us travelers is an explosion of options. Where there was once one luxury hotel in Cusco, there are now five. Where one or two companies handled upscale tours to Patagonia, now you're spoiled for choices. You can travel around Guatemala in great comfort and stay in stunning hotels. There are more five-diamond hotels in Mexico than there are in Canada.
So if you haven't been to the region for a while, assume a lot has changed. Not always for the better, but mostly. In the past few years the travel magazines started to wake up to the draws beyond Machu Picchu and the Galapagos and it looks like the "10's" could be the decade that North Americans wake appreciate all that's out there on their southern doorstep--available without a side order of jet lag.
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What's New?
| We didn't slow down much over the holidays and have been busy getting up new hotel and tour stories as people start thinking about getting away for vacation. We continue to expand our Brazil coverage, adding the two best hotels in Salvador, Bahia: Boutique Hotel Zank and the historic Pestana Convento do Carmo.
In Belize we added reviews of two decked-out condo hotels that are great for families: Phoenix Resort on Ambergris Caye and Chabil Mar in Placencia.
My tour story on the Coffee Triangle of Colombia is up now as well.
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Coming Soon
The best way to keep up with new items as they go up is to subscribe to the RSS feed of our blog. There I also toss in notable travel news from Latin America, reviews of airlines active there, and the occasional relevant book or spirits review. You can also follow us on Twitter at LuxLatinamerica.
Right now we're putting up new reviews of luxury hotels in Argentina. Next week we'll post a review of the nicest boutique hotel in Los Cabos, a feature story on Quito and its surroundings, and soon after a review of the new W Hotel in Santiago. Stay tuned.
First time?
If you are receiving this newsletter for the first time and did not sign up directly, it's because a) I just met you at Luxury Travel Expo or b) You sent an e-mail to me in the past few weeks---including press releases. If this was a mistake and luxury travel in Latin America is not your thing, scroll down to the un subscribe link. Otherwise, welcome!
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Regards,
Timothy Scott
Editor, Luxury Latin America
 305-428-2681
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