The main Latin America event has begun and continues until tomorrow (6) in São Paulo
The optimistic tone of economic recovery was predominant during the speeches on the first day of activities at the 5th edition of WTM Latin America. The main Latin American tourism and travel event, which began yesterday (4), runs until Thursday (6) at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, and there were already 23% more people on the first day, including exhibitors, buyers and visitors, in a programme aimed at presenting different business opportunities and updating professional knowledge.
In the opening ceremony, which was attended by regional and state secretaries, industry leaders and businesspeople from the sector, the Minister of Tourism, Max Beltrão, stressed the relevance of the sector for creating employment and stated that the initiative should not only start from the national perspective. “City administrations need to discuss projects so that the labour market grows on all levels.”
Lawrence Reinisch, director of WTM Latin America, said that “despite the challenging times the world has faced over the last five years, this is the time for a return to growth.” The executive also reinforced the role of tourism in creating employment and increasing income by driving the economic chain. “Tourism needs to have a sustainable and responsible legacy.”
Despite the advance of almost 10% in the industry in 2016, Braztoa president Magda Nassar said that the country is far from maturity in the sector and she demanded better dialogue with the president’s office for resolving the concerns of businesspeople and consumers and called for policies that value tourism professionals.
Trends Report 2017
The 2017 Trends Report from WTM Latin America, published in association with Euromonitor International, brings the trends that have been emerging in the travel and tourism industry in Latin America. This year the highlight was the greater participation of women and those over 50 as travellers, particularly as the latter group will soon represent more than 25% of the region’s visitors.
The study present by Marília Borges, a research analyst at Euromonitor International based in Brazil, s available at .
Programme schedule
Because it offers qualified networking opportunities and the updating of professional knowledge, WTM once again has a broad agenda of conferences and seminars on the tourism market and its interfaces. The presentations are taking place in two environments: the Conference Theatre and in The Travel Tech Show at WTM.
The first day’s agenda was intense and featured very consistent presentations and full auditoriums. The first conference in the Conference Theatre was given by Christopher Pomeroy, Director of Global Strategies and Customer Services, MMGY Global, who showed how data and technology are shaping today’s targeting strategies. Then Sandra Carvao, Communication Director of the World Tourism Organization, spoke about the trends in international tourism and the UN’s International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017. Yesterday afternoon also included presentations by Keith Matsumoto, Agency Development Manager for Google; representatives from BRAZTOA, SEBRAE Nacional and some guests of theirs, and Eduardo Sanovicz, President of ABEAR, who explained the social and economic benefits of aviation in Brazil and its effects on the tourism industry.
This programme also addressed Responsible Tourism, with the panel on the sector and sustainable development goals, chaired by Gustavo Pinto, who is doing a Master’s degree in Responsible Tourism at Manchester Metropolitan University, and with panellists, Frederico Levy, Director of Sustainability for BRAZTOA, and Márcio Favilla, Executive Director of Competitiveness, External Relations and Partnerships of the World Tourism Organization (WTO).
The Travel Tech Show at WTM conferences were also heavily supported and much praised. Executives and guests considered really important issues in the market, such as the use of technology in making tariff strategies more dynamic according to the profile of e-travellers, conducted by Omnibees, and Big Data, and how directed advertising can help with the marketing of tourism companies, a presentation given by Barbara Goldenstein, Senior Advertising Sales Consultant for Latin America at Amadeus, and Andres Molinari, Travel Intelligence Manager for Latin America at Amadeus.
The stage also featured speeches on online tourism (Phocuswright), the use of data to maximize hotel billing (SiteMinder), how to redefine the way to be globally connected, with Glocalme (Hong Kong uCloudlink Network Technology Co., Ltd) and, also how to develop a profitable business for producing travel content on the Internet, dealing with the issue of blogs (ABBV – Brazilian Association of Travel Blogs).
One of the panels most commented on in the technology agenda was given by consultant, Gabriela Otto, who criticized some of the professionals who work in the hotel industry. For the specialist, the existence of a comfort zone is practically inherent and includes the profile of professionals and entrepreneurs who have little attitude or are not very bold. According to Gabriela, the secret of success lies in partnerships and it is necessary to conquer and maintain customers the whole time.
The programme in the Conference Theatre and The Travel Tech Show At WTM continues on the second day of the event with yet another series of conferences and panels.
Check out today’s WTM Latin America programme: https://we.tl/7Yf0CzwShu
CONFERENCE THEATRE
5 April
13:00 – 13:30
Hotels and Airlines: What is the future of distribution?
André Alves, Decolar.com; Paulo Salvador, Intercity Hotéis; Gabriela Otto, HSMAI Brasil and GO Consultoria
13:45 – 14:15
Translating sustainability into business: inspirational ideas.
Mariana Aldrigui, a professor and researcher, University of São Paulo
14:30 – 15:00
Latin America: Taking off after the turbulence.
Carolina Sass de Haro, an analyst for Latin America with Phocuswright
15:15 – 15:45
Air transport prospects in Brazil.
Prof. Jorge Eduardo Leal Medeiros, PhD, Polytechnic School, University of São Paulo
16:00 – 16:30
Dreaming about traveling.
Felipe Chammas, tourism industry analyst, Google
16:45 – 17:15
WTM Responsible Tourism: Examples from South America.
Ana García Pando, General Manager of Tren Ecuador; Dr. Roberto Klabin, owner of the Caiman Ecological Refuge. Moderator: Gustavo Pinto, doing a Master’s degree in Responsible Tourism in Manchester Metropolitan University
17:30 – 18:00
Find out how more effective payment processes can increase your earnings.
Thiago Medeiros, Commercial Development Manager, Amadeus, Latin America
18:15 – 18:45
SMARTPHONE – Your new travel compass.
Fernanda Alcantara, Consumer Insights, Facebook; Daniel Ferreira, Consumer Insights, Facebook; Leonardo Melo, researcher with GFK
THE TRAVEL TECH SHOW AT WTM
5 April
12:45 – 13:15
See how events’ data affect room rates and how to use this information for optimizing your return strategy.
Philipp Stelzer, HQ plus, Head of Sales
13:50 – 14:10
How to turn the public opinions of guests into profit.
Gaston Richter, TrustYou; Marco Antonio Fonseca, Cloudbeds
14:40 – 15:00
Find out how Big Data and directed advertising can help your marketing.
Bárbara Goldenstein, Senior Advertising Sales Consultant, Amadeus, Latin America; Andres Molinari, Travel Intelligence Manager, Amadeus, Latin America
15:30 – 15:50
Big Data and the distribution of airline tickets.
Jason Sui, co-founder and senior vice president, Strategy and Growth, PKFARE
16:20 – 16:40
Increase revenue by mobilizing the emotions of your customers with regard to your hotel.
Pilar Osório, Sales Director for Brazil, TravelClick
17:10 – 17:30
Metasearch Made in Brazil.
Pettersom Paiva, CEO e co-founder, Voopter
18:00 – 18:20
Digital influencers in the travel market.
Fernanda Castelo Branco, Vontade de Viajar blog and a member of the ABBV
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.
Press attendance – World Travel Market
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