50th birthday collaboration between the global attraction and Viajes El Corte Inglés reaches into all of LATAM markets, with Mexico as flag country.
Call it coincidence. Call it Kismet. Call it good fortune. For whatever reason, the announcement by Disney that, as a part of the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World in Orlando, the theme park giant announced that Viajes El Corte Inglés was expanding its partnership with Disney Destinations—came on the day after that the USA was open for international travel once again.
With this alliance, Viajes El Corte Inglés extends the benefits it had in Spain as a select Disney Destinations tour operator in Latin America.
Making the announcement event on September 21st, Jenny Zapata Arias, general director of Latin America for Viajes El Corte Inglés; Alejandro Flores García, Mexico sales manager for Disney Destinations; and Ángel Sarria, Latin America sales and marketing director for Disney Destinations. As good fate would have it, the announcement came on the day after the United States government was lifting its travel ban so that vaccinated international travelers could visit the USA.
A quick primer on El Corte Inglés: It means, literally, The English Cut, as in a suit. An English cut suit is cut closer to the body and has a narrower and defined shoulder with higher armholes.
In the common parlance of European commerce, it has a different meaning: El Corte Inglés is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. And its travel agencies, many of them located in the department stores, number about 600 branches worldwide. More than 500 are located in Spain and some 90 abroad.
The announcement event emphasized that Mexico will be the flag country of Latin America for Viajes El Corte Inglés, which will promote Disney sales in more than 70 branches nationwide.
###
● More on LATAM—Region Dominates Long Haul International Travel to USA in 2021: Because of a combination of factors—mostly less stringent and a more accommodating restrictions on those who were able to travel abroad, as well as a welcoming attitude toward Americans traveling to the region—LATAM country markets have dominated the Top 15 country markets for inbound visitors to the United States for the first eight months of 2021. In fact, nine out of ten of the Top 15 markets were LATAM countries. The monthly data on the subject from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) tell the statistical story.
Top 15 Overseas Country Markets
Arrivals in USA Year-to-Date (Through August) 2021
| Country of Residence & Rank | Number of Arrivals | % Change |
| 1. COLOMBIA | 682,220 | 393.0 |
| 2. PERU | 279,840 | 319.9 |
| 3. ECUADOR | 250,285 | 173.0 |
| 4. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 234,515 | 175.0 |
| 5. INDIA | 232,486 | -11.8 |
| 6. GUATEMALA | 173,305 | 309.3 |
| 7. ARGENTINA | 164,524 | 5.8 |
| 8. HONDURAS | 159,018 | 342.9 |
| 9. COSTA RICA | 154,686 | 135.9 |
| 10. VENEZUELA | 132,449 | 141.2 |
| 11. CHINA, PRC | 121,168 | -67.2 |
| 12. EL SALVADOR | 115,540 | 280.4 |
| 13. ISRAEL | 104,819 | 58.1 |
| 14. JAMAICA | 101,730 | 97.1 |
| 15. BAHAMAS | 93,872 | 94.3 |
● Another LATAM item: Not only is the Dominican Republic sending visitors to the United States in large numbers, there must be some round-trip traffic among Dominicans who are helping to drive those numbers. The country’s Ministry of Tourism reported earlier this month that the month of September just concluded was the best September in the entire history of the Dominican Republic, with more tourists arriving in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
September saw the entry of a total of 365,544 non-residents, representing a recovery of 14 percent of the influx received before the COVID 19 pandemic, specifically in September 2019, and in turn 25 percent compared to the numbers of September 2020, which they represented the generation of about $412 million to the country.
Not only is the Dominican Republic sending visitors to the United States in large numbers, there must be some round-trip traffic among Dominicans who are helping to drive those numbers. The Ministry of Tourism reported earlier this month that the month of September just concluded was the best September in the entire history of the Dominican Republic, with more tourists arriving in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
David Collado, minister of tourism for the Dominican Republic, recently affirmed that the arrival of tourists so far exceeds 3.3 million flights by non-residents in the DR during the year 2021, surpassing 2019 by the eleventh month, and highlighted that the recovery has been more noticeable in non-resident foreign tourists who usually stay in the country for an average of 7 days.
Collado pointed out that the country’s tourism industry continues to recover steadily and only the hotel, bar and restaurant sector of the economy grew—26.6 percent in the January-through-August period, double the average of the economy. Also, 79 percent of non-residents who arrived in the country in 2021 were tourists of foreign origin and the remaining 21 percent of Dominican origin.
