This morning’s (5/04) meeting brought together leaders from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, who presented their ideas and proposed solutions
In a meeting that brought together more than 100 people, including leaders from the travel industry, authorities, executives from the private sector and tourism professionals, the morning of the second day of WTM Latin America and 47th Braztoa Business Event was marked by a debate entitled “Ministerial Round Table on Tourism as a Tool for Development”.
The meeting, the idea for which originated at WTM London in November 2016, brought together leaders from the three countries in Latin America, which according to the United Nations understand tourism as being a sustainable development matter.
Lilian Kechichián, the Uruguayan Minister of Tourism, Marx Beltrão, the Brazilian Minister of Tourism, and Alejandro Lastra, the Secretary of Tourism from Argentina took part. “WTM is globally recognized for guaranteeing to arrange meetings that promote networking, business generation and a reflection on the challenges faced by the industry and the opportunities it provides. To arrange this meeting as one of the milestones of the fifth edition of WTM Latin America is a source of great pride for us. We know that we’re effectively contributing to the development of the industry, “says Lawrence Reinisch, the director of WTM Latin America.
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) secretary, Sandra Carvao, who chaired the debate, stressed the importance of 2017, which has been chosen as the Year of Sustainable Tourism, and emphasized the three goals that have been established for the year: raising awareness of the power of this industry as a tool for sustainable development; mobilizing the public and private sectors; and mobilizing people by way of public policies that change consumer behaviour.
During the debate, the Brazilian minister, Marx Beltrão, underlined the importance of the initiatives that are being developed, with a particular emphasis on policies for making visa application processes easier, strengthening the infrastructure of airports and offering more connectivity, promoting the destination, and Brazil’s size and the importance of partnerships with the private sector. “We’re working hard on the agenda of concessions and infrastructure, by increasing access for the more than 60 million people who travel throughout Brazil. But the government cannot take care of everything.” Alejandro Lastra, Secretary of Tourism for Argentina, added that “it is obvious that we must have partnerships with private initiative.”
For Lilian Kechichián, Uruguay’s Tourism Minister, “tourism is converted into a state policy that is to be transformed into a country project.” Uruguay received about 3 million people in 2016, which is the same as the number of inhabitants in the country. Tourists spent almost $ 1 million in just one year. The main places visited were Montevideo, Punta del Este and the Thermal Coast.
Marx Beltrão stressed that the country needs to use the sector as a springboard to economic development “generating employment and income in those local communities where tourism undertakings are already being developed.” The Brazilian minister added that the industry continues to grow, despite the economic challenges. “Tourism is the only sector in which unemployment is not growing.”
About WTM Latin America
WTM Latin America, now in its 5th year, attracts almost 9,000 unique senior executives interested in the Latin American travel industry. The 2016 event generated US$ 370 million of new business which was conducted between exhibitors and buyers. WTM Latin America is part of WTM Portfolio of events, which also includes World Travel Market London, World Travel Market Africa, Arabian Travel Market, WTM Connect Asia and International Golf Travel Market. www.wtm.com. http://latinamerica.wtm.com.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry. Its wide-ranging portfolio of events around the globe covers leisure travel, luxury travel, meetings, incentives and business travel. RTE, which organizes more than 20 events around the world, includes three portfolios: World Travel Market, IBTM Events and International Luxury Travel Market. RTE is a business unit of Reed Exhibitions. www.reedtravelexhibitions.com.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organizer, with over 500 events in 30 countries. In 2015, Reed brought together over seven million events participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are hold throughout Americas, Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Oceania, and organized by 40 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries. www.reedexpo.com.
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