Travel and transport are expected to drive an 11 percent increase in services exports from Latin America and the Caribbean in 2026, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
In the executive summary of its International Trade Outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2026, the United Nations commission points to recovering global economic activity, expanding goods trade and continued growth in tourism as the main factors supporting the outlook.
“Unlike the post-pandemic period, growth will be led by traditional services, particularly transport and travel, while modern services will expand at a more moderate pace,” the report states.
Services exports include spending by overseas visitors and services supplied to foreign customers, such as international freight transportation. Modern services cover activities including information technology, financial, professional and other knowledge-based services.
The projected expansion follows an eight percent year-on-year increase in the region’s services exports during the first half of 2026. Services imports grew by nine percent over the same period and are expected to maintain that growth rate for the full year.
The forecasts apply to Latin America and the Caribbean collectively. The executive summary does not provide a separate services export projection for Guyana.
Despite the favourable outlook, transport services continue to face pressure from geopolitical tensions and disruptions along major shipping routes.
ECLAC reports that conflict in and around Iran, together with continuing tensions in the Red Sea, affected the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the first half of the year.
Shipping diversions around the Cape of Good Hope lengthened journeys and increased operating costs, insurance premiums and emissions. They also reduced effective fleet capacity and made maritime services less reliable.
Although global container trade continued to expand, logistical difficulties and uncertainty contributed to sharply higher freight rates.
Tourism, meanwhile, has continued growing at a more moderate pace after returning to pre-pandemic levels.
The commission places the regional outlook within a wider expansion of international services trade, which reached US$9.6 trillion in 2025. Over the past decade, global services trade grew at an annual average of 6.6 percent, outpacing trade in goods.
ECLAC identifies stronger infrastructure, improved logistics and closer regional cooperation as measures that can help countries strengthen their resilience and competitiveness amid an increasingly uncertain trading environment.
