Q & A with Jill PorthamCEO of British travel Agency Last Frontier

by Jose Carlos de Santiago

Mrs. Portham is one of Central America´s staunchest advocates and has had the chance of taking a closer look at the whole region. Now she speaks vehemently about its potentials among wander-thirsty Britons. On this and other issue, Mrs. Portham talked exclusively with Caribbean News Digital.

CND: What does Last Frontier do exactly?

JP: This is a British travel agency that kind of deals with the upscale tourist market and individual travelers. We don´t deal with groups, but rather bring tourists to Latin America, chiefly to Central America.

CND: What Central American travel destinations are you dealing with?

JP: We started out ten years ago in Venezuela. Little by little, we´ve managed to grow and we now cover all Latin American countries. Our biggest markets are Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Chile and Argentina, and we´re now trying our hand at Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico. These three nations are new to us.

CND: What benefits has the Central America Travel Market brought to you?

JP: First of all, this is the first time Last Frontier has been in this event. I´m kind of an experiment, so to speak. But it´s been great for me to be here because I´ve made plenty of contacts and new friends.

CND: Could a tradeshow like this help your multi-destination efforts? Do you believe Central America is a good multi-destination offer?

JP: I´ve noted we can make some pretty interesting combinations with some countries to provide customers with a touch of different cultures that, however, go hand in hand because they have the same roots. This region is no doubt a multi-destination heavyweight with lots of allures to offer.

CND: How many people are employed in your company?

JP: We´re just seven people. Each and every one of us has either lived or worked in Latin America. For instance, four years ago I was in the publicity business in Caracas, I´ve spent my whole life in the publicity trade and after having the chance of living in Latin America, I decided to make a sea change in my life. I said to myself, ´what would you like to do? Travel. Where would I like to go to? Latin America.´ So, I started out in this new career, tourism, that has panned out to be like a dream come true, the miracle of having the chance of taking a firsthand look at all these cultures, meeting people with great knowledge and expertise. Now I´m in a position to plan much better travel for my customers back in the U.K. Sometimes customers don´t have so much information about Latin America.

CND: Do you consider the opening of CATA in Europe is important to the region?

JP: Absolutely, especially because sometimes we paint a wrong picture. For us, Honduras is a dangerous destination, a place plagued with thieves and drugs. However, I´m here and I see nothing of that. CATA has some educating to do in Europe, showing people there what this region is actually all about.

CND: Are you confident you can turn Central America into a very different travel destination? Not North America, not South America, but Central America as its own region.

JP: This is all new to me, like an unexplored territory. I´m sure many travelers will start seeing the region the same way.