Spanish colonial heritage in Mexico

For the corporate conquistador, setting out to tackle the markets of Latin America might seem a daunting prospect. Defined as those countries of the Americas once part of the Spanish and Portuguese empires, the title covers more than 20 nations, sprawls over almost eight million square miles, and has a combined population of 568 million people.

In some ways, the visiting executive will be on familiar ground, for the Latin Americans are part Mediterranean in origin. But they are not Spaniards or Portuguese in that the European influence dates back just 500 years – to the arrival of the colonising conquistadors – and is overlaid on Incan, Aztec, Mayan and older cultures dating back to the mists of time.

Which means that pitching for business down Latin America way means acquiring an understanding of the etiquette of negotiations, including dressing smartly, adjusting to a slower pace of life, and remembering who invented ‘mañana’.

It’s well worth the effort, according to UK Trade & Invest, which stresses potential for business across the board. Argentina, for example, has invited tenders for a number of large construction projects, Chile is looking for companies involved with road improvements and hospitals, Colombia needs expertise in constructing new airports, and Peru could use UK input in expanding its copper mines.

Reaching this prospective Eldorado from the UK is relatively straightforward, with direct flights to almost half the destinations in our survey. Otherwise, there is a variety of links from mainland Europe, and slightly more time-consuming connections are offered to various Latin American destinations from North American airports such as New York JFK, Miami, Atlanta, Washington DC, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth.

As for the small talk before getting down to business, mention of Spain winning soccer’s World Cup could be worth an order or two – but not in Brazil.

Argentina, Buenos Aires
While the capital of Argentina has suffered from the universal recession, with many industries becoming unprofitable in the face of foreign competition, the country’s rich natural resources have enabled others to prosper, including the chemicals and energy production sectors. Buenos Aires, on the south eastern coast of South America, has also seen growth in the services sector, its banking system important to Argentina’s financial stability, along with agriculture, tourism and oil refining.

British Airways flies from London Heathrow to Buenos Aires seven times a week; Air Europa flies from London Gatwick, via Madrid, daily except for Saturdays. From Madrid, Iberia offers 21 flights a week; Aerolineas Argentinas operates seven. Services elsewhere in mainland Europe include seven flights a week from Paris Charles de Gaulle with Air France, while Lufthansa has six departures a week out of Frankfurt.

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
Celebrated as a tourist hot spot, the one-time capital of Brazil will receive a further boost when its hosts the Summer Olympics in 2016. Meanwhile, the economy has sprinted ahead of both India and China’s in terms of GDP, its mainstays financial services and the production of most of Brazil’s oil. Many multi-national corporations have headquarters in Rio, and the industries include processed foods, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, ships, textiles and furniture.

British Airways and TAM Airlines each serve Rio three times a week from Heathrow. From Madrid, Iberia flies daily, while Lufthansa has a daily departure from Frankfurt, and Air France 12 services a week out of Paris CDG.

São Paulo
The largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, São Paulo is big in every sense. It is responsible for around half of Brazil’s GDP, hosts 90,000 conventions, conferences and trade shows a year, and has the second biggest economy in Latin America after Mexico. This is based on machinery, the aviation sector, automobile industries, financial services, textiles, orange growing, sugar cane and coffee.

Both British Airways and TAM depart Heathrow for São Paulo daily. Iberia flies 14 times a week from Madrid, Swiss has a daily frequency from Zurich, and Air France offers 12 flights a week from Paris CDG. KLM operates daily out of Amsterdam Schiphol, and Lufthansa flies once a day from Frankfurt and five times a week from Munich.

Chile, Santiago
Located between the Andes and the Pacific, Chile’s capital is the driving force behind the best-managed economy in South America. Enjoying steady growth, welcoming foreign investment, Santiago is Chile’s industrial and financial centre, a modern metropolis with an impressive high-rise skyline – it’s a formula that has attracted many multinational companies to base their regional headquarters in the city. The services sector contributes 76 per cent of regional GDP, complemented by the machinery, electronics, food processing and chemicals industries.

With no direct services from the UK to Santiago, the most convenient routing is via mainland Europe. Air France flies five times a week from Paris CDG, while from Madrid, Iberia departs eight times a week and LAN Airlines has a double-daily frequency.

Colombia, Bogota
At an altitude of over 2,500 metres above sea level, Bogota is the third-highest capital city in the world. Ranked as one of the most influential financial centres in Latin America, noted nowadays for political and economic stability, it is the regional base for several multinational companies. The city is also Colombia’s industrial hub, exporting textiles, agricultural produce, chemicals, crude oil, coal, pharmaceuticals, coffee and metals.

Air France flies daily from Paris CDG to Bogota. Otherwise, flights from Europe depart Madrid, Iberia flying eight times a week and Avianca nine times weekly.

Costa Rica, San José
Located in Costa Rica’s Central Valley, San José has traditionally been all about coffee. Today, however, tourism earns more foreign exchange than exports of the country’s three main cash crops combined – coffee, bananas and pineapples. A changing picture is further influenced by government tax exemptions for those willing to invest in the country. These have persuaded several high-tech corporations to develop their operations in Costa Rica, among them GlaxoSmithKline and microprocessor manufacturer Intel.

There are no direct flights from the UK to San José, which means travelling to Madrid and catching one of Iberia’s daily services or flying via a North American hub.

Cuba, Havana
Cuba’s capital is a multi-faceted seat of one of the last remaining communist governments. At the same time, it is picturesque, swaying to the strains of the samba, its streets thronged with lovingly maintained American cars from the 1950s. This oddly attractive mix has triggered a tourism revolution, transforming the once isolated country with an increasing number of international flights, new hotels and the restoration of crumbling buildings. Never-theless, the economy is still reliant on the sugar industry, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, and tobacco products such as the prized Habanos cigars.

From London Gatwick, Virgin Atlantic serves Havana twice a week, and Air Europa five times weekly via Madrid. Air France flies daily from Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Mexico, Mexico City
The capital of Mexico is nothing if not dynamic, its GDP set to double by 2020. Top earners in the city had a disposable income close to US$100,000 in 2007, and with stable economic growth, there is still high demand for luxury cars, designer fashions and expensive jewellery. Industrial production has moved out of town, to be replaced in Greater Mexico City by trade, financial services, insurance, telecoms, information technology and transportation.

British Airways flies from Heathrow to Mexico City thrice-weekly. From Madrid, Aeromexico departs daily, with the same frequency out of Paris CDG, from where Air France offers a double-daily service. KLM operates from Schiphol seven times a week, and Lufthansa flies daily from Frankfurt.

Panama, Panama City
Located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, Panama City is an important hub for international finance and commerce. Tourism is the main economic activity, along with the export of bananas, coffee and seafood. The new wealth generator is the real estate market, with developers and investors from around the world showing significant interest in the planned expansion of the Panama Canal and associated infrastructure.

With no direct flights from the UK, Panama City can be reached from Amsterdam Schiphol with KLM which flies there five times a week, or on Iberia’s daily service out of Madrid.

Peru, Lima
The capital of Peru is located on the Pacific coast, making it an ideal jumping off point for trade with the burgeoning Asian markets.

The country’s financial centre, Lima also spearheads industrial development, the most relevant sectors including textiles, food, chemicals, fish, leather and the manufacture and processing of oil derivatives. Free-market policies have stimulated exports and attracted inward investment.

Again, there are no direct flights from the UK to Lima. The alternatives are connecting with KLM’s daily service from Schiphol; Iberia’s 13 services a week out of Madrid; or Air Europa’s four flights a week, also from Madrid.

Venezuela, Caracas
Located on a coastal mountain range in northeastern South America, the Venezuelan capital has an economy dominated by the oil and gas sectors. These are controlled by Petroleos de Venezuela, the city and country’s largest company. Alongside this major player on the global stage, small and medium-size industries contribute to wealth generation, among them chemicals, textiles, leather, food, iron, and rubber manufacturers.

Air Europa serves Caracas five times a week from London Gatwick via Madrid. Air France flies from Paris CDG, and Iberia from Madrid, both with a daily frequency, and Lufthansa operates from Frankfurt three times a week.

THE CARBON COST
The table below shows the distance covered by a return flight between two destinations on a number of selected domestic routes, along with the approximate carbon emissions and the cost of offsetting it with The CarbonNeutral Company. For more information, see: www.carbonneutral.com