THE lack of promotion and high cost of travel have left many Chinese travelers cold about traveling to newly added Latin American destinations, according to Shenzhen travel agents.

Six countries including Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Laos would be open to Chinese travelers from Sept. 15, updating the total travel destinations for Chinese residents to 76, the national tourism bureau announced recently.

However, travel agencies say few citizens are really interested in the newly added destinations.

"We have just opened the Latin America route for tourists, but it is not popular. It may take a long time for individual tourists to form a tour group. So, we suggest it is better for tourists to form their own group," Mr. Lai from Shenzhen Port China Travel Service Co. Ltd. said.

He said a 14-day trip for 16 tourists to South America will cost between 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per person.

"Many tourists called to inquire about going to Latin America but very few would really travel there. Firstly, Latin America is not promoted enough as a destination. Secondly, the trip costs too much. It costs 25,000 to 40,000 yuan per person for a 20-people travel group to enjoy a trip in South America," Miss Xia from China Travel Service Shenzhen Co. Ltd. said.

"It is very hard for tourists to get there. Tourists have to spend two days on a plane. They have to take a plane to South Africa and take another plane to South America," she further explained.

According to Xia, potential outbound travelers are also concerned about the public security condition in South American countries.

Comparatively speaking, Brazil, Mexico and Peru are more popular than Antigua, Barbuda and Barbados among local people, both travel agencies said.

Staff of Shenzhen Tourism (Group) Corporation and China International Travel Service Shenzhen Co. Ltd. say that they do not have any Latin America package tours at present. The hot outbound travel destinations are Southeast Asia and Europe, according to the agency.

According to the city's tourism bureau, some 297,500 local people traveled abroad in the first seven months. The number slightly declined by 3.69 percent than the same period of the previous year.