Latin America is a hugely popular part of the world with tourists.
According to figures, it’s believed an estimated 117 million international tourists headed to the region in 2023, a 12% increase on the previous year. Although it is still below the levels of those that had been recorded prior to the global pandemic that had been experienced, it is believed that visitor numbers will return to the levels that had been witnessed by the end of 2024.
Countries like Colombia have proven to be exceptionally popular, while locations like Chile, Peru and the Dominican Republic are expected to see an increase of around 10% in the coming years. It’s thought that medium stays have made these destinations popular, with around 70% of travellers enjoying a stay of between four and 13 nights, although short (7%) and long (23%) stays are emerging as popular options.
What Cities Are The Most Friendly For Visitors In Latin America?
While there are certain countries that have enjoyed a level of popularity with visitors, it’s important that tourists recognize and understand where it is the most-friendly to go.
Many of the countries within Latin America can be considered to be pleasant due to their perceived cultures, however some places should also be known to be a little less welcoming to tourists.
According to an article by language experts and teachers offering online classes Preply, they found the top five cities in Latin America to visit as a tourist in terms of friendliness and being welcoming were:
- Havana – Cuba
- Buenos Aires – Argentina
- Montevideo – Uruguay
- Bariloche – Argentina
- Cordoba – Argentina
Having analyzed several factors and metrics to form their findings, Cuba’s capital city was cited as the hospitable place to visit in Latin America. It was found to have had the lowest crime rate of all the cities studied, while visitors from all over the world could enter the country with relative ease and without prejudice regarding their sexuality.
Buenos Aires in Argentina also ranked highly in the list, with it being the location within the region to have the best proficiency of the English language for tourists looking to be able to communicate and potentially unable to in Spanish.
What Locations In Latin America Were Found To Be The Unfriendliest?
As mentioned, Latin America isn’t completely welcoming to tourists. Many locations throughout the region can even be considered to be rather dangerous to non-locals. People who live in the region or country can also find that the locations aren’t always the most friendly to them if they are an “outsider”.
In the same study, Preply found that the following were the least friendly to tourists…
- Punta Cana – Dominican Republic
- Mexico City – Mexico
- Rosario – Argentina
- Guadalajara – Mexico
- Mendoza – Argentina
While the Dominican Republic has been growing and is expected to continue to increase visitor memories, Punta Cana is a city that arguably goes against the idea of the country being welcoming to tourists. The study found that while it was relatively safe, it wasn’t found to be very warm to visitors, regardless of who they were.
Mexico City also ranked highly in terms of being the least friendly, perhaps due to the amount of crime that has been found there. The city is notorious for the troubles that it has experienced over the years, with political unrest and protests having taken place over the years, as well as a high murder rate. In terms of visitors, the city has gotten friendlier, but with a lack of English being spoken, it might not be the best place to go if Spanish isn’t spoken to a proficient level.
