Travel services in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Travel services was 40.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Latin America & Caribbean, 1979–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of service exports, BoP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in Latin America & Caribbean is 40.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 49.8% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 25.7%, in 2020.
That places Latin America & Caribbean 8th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 47 years of available data.
Travel services in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of service exports, BoP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 48.5% | — |
| 1980 | 41.1% | -15.3% |
| 1981 | 40.8% | -0.6% |
| 1982 | 40.5% | -0.8% |
| 1983 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 43.5% | +7.5% |
| 1985 | 41.6% | -4.3% |
| 1986 | 44.8% | +7.6% |
| 1987 | 44.1% | -1.6% |
| 1988 | 42.9% | -2.8% |
| 1989 | 45.8% | +6.9% |
| 1990 | 45.3% | -1.3% |
| 1991 | 44.0% | -2.7% |
| 1992 | 43.0% | -2.3% |
| 1993 | 43.4% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 42.7% | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 43.0% | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 44.8% | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 43.3% | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 49.8% | +15.1% |
| 1999 | 49.0% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 49.1% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 49.0% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 46.5% | -5.0% |
| 2003 | 47.4% | +1.9% |
| 2004 | 48.4% | +2.0% |
| 2005 | 47.1% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 46.2% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 44.5% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 42.2% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 43.0% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 40.9% | -4.9% |
| 2011 | 39.1% | -4.5% |
| 2012 | 39.3% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 39.9% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 41.4% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 44.1% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 45.7% | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 45.5% | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 45.3% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 45.3% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 25.7% | -43.2% |
| 2021 | 30.4% | +18.1% |
| 2022 | 39.2% | +28.9% |
| 2023 | 42.0% | +7.1% |
| 2024 | 41.5% | -1.2% |
| 2025 | 40.7% | -1.8% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services in Latin America & Caribbean changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -43.2% | 45.3% | 25.7% |
| 2022 | +28.9% | 30.4% | 39.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 48.5% | 48.5% | 48.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 42.6% | 40.5% | 45.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.8% | 42.7% | 49.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 46.3% | 42.2% | 49.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 42.6% | 39.1% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 36.6% | 25.7% | 42.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More economy & growth data for Latin America & Caribbean
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 2.15 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015) 2.5 % change on previous year (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 7,621 current US$ per person (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 0.6869 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 60.29 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (current US$) 4.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 1,502 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) 0.1354 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0082 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 180.24 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is travel services in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Travel services in Latin America & Caribbean was 40.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 49.8% in 1998.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.7% in 2020.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for travel services?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 8th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Travel services (% of service exports, BoP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are services provided by residents to non-residents.