A Palestinian delegation will be at World Travel Market Latin America for the first time, as part of the destination’s drive to boost visitor numbers by 10% in 2017.
The Palestine Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has exhibited at World Travel Market London, but is now heading to WTM Latin America as it aims to market to Brazil and other countries in South and Central America.
WTM Latin America is the main event for the Latin American travel industry and will be held from 4–6 April in Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, Brazil.
The delegation will include Palestinian tour operators and representatives of the Palestine Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
Majed Ishaq, Director of Marketing at the ministry, said: “We will invite professionals and the public to come and visit Palestine and encounter myriad religious, historical, and archaeological sites at its famous cities: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus and Gaza.
“We want them to come and enjoy Palestine’s sumptuous cuisine and feel the warmth and hospitality of the Palestinian people.”
As well as increasing awareness about Palestine, the delegation aims to improve the destination’s image, network with tour operators and study global tourism trends.
Ishaq said it is important for Palestine to take part in trade events, adding that WTM London is considered “one of the most important tourism shows in the world”.
He added: “Despite the difficulties and challenges, the Palestine tourism industry is growing year by year.
“Tourism contributes more than 20% of the GDP and provides around 30,000 jobs. Total revenues from tourism in 2016 reached more than US$1 billion.”
In 2015, there were 2.2 million visitors, rising to 2.3 million in 2016.
Tourists arrive via Jordan or Israel, and the main markets are Russia, the US, Romania, India, Poland, China, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Ukraine, Italy and Egypt.
Since 2012, Palestine has held the status of non-member observer state in the United Nations.
The UK Foreign Office refers to the destination as the Occupied Palestinian Territories and advises against all travel to Gaza and urges caution in the West Bank.
Its advice also says: “The cities of Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho see large numbers of tourists including on organised tours and there have been no recent reports of any serious incidents involving foreigners.”
Ishaq said: “Palestine a safe country because the mentality of the people here is to respect and welcome tourists.”
About WTM Latin America
WTM Latin America, now in its 5th year, attracts almost 9,000 unique senior executives interested in the Latin American travel industry. The 2016 event generated US$ 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.
World Travel Market Events
The Portfolio World Travel Market gathers the main travel leisure events worldwide: World Travel Market, in London; WTM Latin America, in Sao Paulo; WTM Africa, in Cape Town; and Arabian Travel Market, in Dubai. Senior executives all over the world, which compounds travel and tourism industries, visit the fair to do business and discover the last surveys, knowledges and points of view. The fairs are part of Reed Exhibitions, world leader in events’ organization. www.wtmworld.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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