Travelocity Joins the South American Travel Stampede

(MoneyWatch)  Travelocity announced today it will launch another Spanish-language site, primarily aimed at Chile, Colombia and Peru. The online travel company already has outposts in Mexico and Argentina.

In these tough economic times, expanding into South America seems like a good idea, if you look at the number of companies (and even countries!) making similar moves. IHG, JetBlue, Hilton and even Starbucks are all making a mark(et) in South America.

"There are still a handful of ­destinations in the Caribbean, Central America and the northern rim of South America where we see opportunities over the next one to one-and-a-half years," said JetBlue's Jim Fuoco said in a report by FlightGlobal. JetBlue, which is limiting its domestic flights, will be launching service to its first South American location, Bogota in early 2009.

According to another report, almost 60 percent of the new hotel projects in South America are in Brazil, and more than half are independent. Global RevPAR reports also showed that revenue rose more than 25 percent in South America, perhaps likely due to an introduction of luxury hotels.

"Latin America is a region with great e-commerce potential," said Bryan Estep, vice president of Travelocity Latin America. "This site gives consumers in multiple countries the convenience and value of online travel. It also offers a great opportunity for our partners to reach out to consumers."

Photo courtesy of Travelocity.