The country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities returns to the event after having taken part in the London edition
For the second year in a row, Palestine will be present at WTM Latin America – the world’s leading event for the Latin American travel industry. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Palestine will take part in the 6th edition of the event, from April 3rd to 5th, 2018, at the Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo.
Palestine has been investing in the tourism sector in recent years. With partnerships in the private sector, the region has been diversifying its itineraries, building hotels, resorts and points of tourist interest. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in the first half of 2017, Palestine was the country with the highest growth in the number of international tourists by comparison with the same period in 2016.
“Last year Palestine participated at WTM Latin America for the first time. It was a great success for Palestine as a destination and for our partners – the Palestinian Tour Operators. The results were better than our expectations. We believe that WTM Latin America is the right show to be part of in the whole region”, says Majed Ishaq Director General of Marketing Department Palestine Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities.
Religious tourism is very popular in the region, which contains historic cities such as Jericho, Jerusalem and Ramallah. The UNWTO estimates that the religious sites receive 300-330 million tourists a year from around the world. In Brazil alone, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Aparecida received 13 million visitors in 2017 and in Mexico, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe received more than seven million pilgrims during the festivities to celebrate the Virgin in the month of December.
According to Luciane Leite, WTM Latin America’s director general, “Latin America is a region with strong Christian religiosity, and religious tourism is one of the major drivers of the domestic travel industry, being an important market for those who wish to increase their influence in the sector. Palestine’s return to WTM Latin America confirms Latin America’s full tourism potential as well as the region’s influence on global tourism”.
According to the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA), the tourism sector accounts for roughly 6% of the country’s GDP – which translates into a figure of US$ 348.9 million – and employs 33,319 people.
“Last year Palestine participated for the first time in WTM Latin America. It was a great success for Palestine as a destination and for our partners – the Palestinian Tour Operators. Talking about the results, it was better than our expectations. We believe that this is the right show to be part of in the whole region”, says Majed Ishaq Director General of Marketing Department Palestine Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities.
WTM Latin America 2018
Venue: Expo Center Norte, Rua José Bernardino Pinto, 333, V. Guilherme – São Paulo
Date / Time: 3-5 April (3 and 4/04, 12:00 until 20:00 and 5/04 from 12:00 until 18:00)
Website: latinamerica.wtm.com
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About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The events are:
WTM Latin America, now in its sixth edition, attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo.
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 5-7 November 2018 – London.
T>F Travel Forward is a new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural T>F Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place on 5 – 7 November 2018 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality.
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5 billion over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM will showcase more than 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 25-year history. http://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com/ www.wtmworld.com. Next event: 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. Taking place annually since 1998, IGTM brings together more than 500 golf tourism suppliers and 400 pre-qualified buyers for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments and exclusive networking opportunities. Showcasing a different golf destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from more than 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 15-18 October 2018 – Slovenia.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at more than 500 events a year, in more than 43 countries, attracting more than seven million participants. Reed’s events are held in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 41 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.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism events organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether they are global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have more than 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.
More information, please contact:
Paul Nelson – WTM Portfolio PR Manager
T: +44 (0)20 8910 7032/ M: +44 (0)79 1955 5510
Natalia Hartmann – WTM Portfolio PR Executive
E: natalia.hartmann@reedexpo.co.uk
T: +44 (0)20 8439 5535/ M: +44 (0)74 0336 7331