Busy corridors, current debates, exhibitors from 40 countries. WTM Latin America 2024 was officially inaugurated this Monday (15/4) at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo. Inspired by the theme “The Future is Open. Be The Change,” the fair will run until April 17th and is expected to surpass the expectation of hosting 27,000 visitors.
Facing an audience filled with managers, leaders, authorities, and professionals from various countries, Bianca Pizzolito, head of WTM Latin America, led the opening ceremony of the largest event in the Latin American travel and tourism industry, highlighting the importance of collectively considering the future of the activity without losing sight of the path traveled.
“The future is made of actions in the present, but it is not possible to speak of it without looking at the lessons of the past,” she said, thanking the presence of Simon Mayle, Luciane Leite, and Lawrence Reinisch, executives who led previous editions of the event. “They are names from a recent past who have made their contributions and have brought us to the moment we live in now,” she said.
Kerry Prince, managing director of RX UK, attended the event for the first time and welcomed the participants. “Today marks the beginning of a show that promises an extraordinary gathering of industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries shaping the future of travel. Over the next three days, we will present trends, technologies, and solutions that are revolutionizing the travel industry and shaping the world,” she said.
Bianca argued that the actions discussed will have a reflection throughout the industry and emphasized that, as in previous editions, the event aimed to bring together experts to discuss trends, new technologies, and share good examples and causes such as equity, diversity, and inclusion in tourism. This year, ancestry was addressed from the opening, through reflections and provocations by Daniel Munduruku, an award-winning writer, teacher, philosopher, and master’s student in Anthropology. He stated that the present, as the name suggests, is a gift and requires a position from everyone.
“Tourism needs to be a dive into the most beautiful aspects of the world, an immersion in natural beauty, a reading of our own belonging, and with a pedagogical proposal. We need to look at the world from the perspectives of indigenous peoples, who are people of the present, of now, who fight for their territories and ways of life,” he said, reminding that it is essential to set aside romanticized views or stereotypes of indigenous peoples.
“WTM Latin America 2024 speaks about ancestry as a bridge that connects future and past through the present. This brings us the reflection of revisiting our own choices, our stories, to understand what change we want and propose to make at this moment when, collectively, we are building the tourism of tomorrow. The support for this meeting to be possible is peace. To support our collective reflections here, we have as foundations diversity, ancestry, inclusion, non-violence, sustainability, security, accessibility, equality, and equity. These are important agendas for changing people’s consciousness,” Bianca concluded.
Among the leaders present were Ana Carla Lopes, executive secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, representing the Minister of Tourism Mário Sabino; Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur, Verónica Pardo, Chile’s tourism subsecretary, and Roberto de Lucena, São Paulo’s secretary of Travel and Tourism. “It is the largest international fair held in Brazil, when Brazil returned. Brazil broke the record for international tourism revenue in 2023. It is an important moment to think about the future and to make Brazil this country with open doors with its diversity to receive the whole world,” Marcelo Freixo said during the press conference with other authorities held right after the opening.
The debates extended throughout the afternoon in the three thematic theaters set up at the event. Among the more than 20 lectures held, some highlights were the panels that brought together female leaders to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in tourism, case reports on climate change, cases of private investment for the promotion of responsible tourism in destinations, and innovations that are redefining the luxury tourism experience.
“Among the pillars that are shaping the future of tourism are experiences, which will determine the competitiveness of destinations and companies; the use of technology to hyper-personalize travelers’ experiences, creating business models, new combinations of artificial intelligence and augmented reality to provide innovation; and, of course, sustainability, which is the basis for tourism development. We have to use the tools we have to take care of the environment, society and build a more promising tourism,” pointed out consultant Marta Poggi in the lecture “Prototyping the Future of Tourism.”
The first day of WTM Latin America was also marked by the delivery of the second edition of the Afrotourism Award, created by Guia Negro and presented at Explore Transformation. The best companies and destinations of 2023 were awarded in ten categories in a packed room. “This shows that we are on the right track. We all win when one wins,” celebrated Tania Neres, coordinator of Afrotourism, Diversity, and Indigenous Peoples at Embratur.
1) Afrotourism Partner Company: Embratur
2) Best National Destination: Salvador
3) Best International Destination: Colombia
4) Best Afrotourism Route: Pequena África [Little Africa] (Rio de Janeiro)
5) Best Black-Friendly Accommodation: Diáspora.Black
6) Best Afrotourism Company: Brafrika Viagens
7) Best Afrotourism Content: Book “Afroturismo, Afeto, Afronta e Futuro” [Afrotourism, Affection, Affront, and Future] by Guilherme Soares Dias
8) Best Afroentrepreneur Restaurant: Casa Omolokum [Omolokum House] (Rio de Janeiro)
9) Best Tourist Attraction: Pelourinho (Salvador/BA)
10) Best Afrotourism Professional: Tania Neres (Embratur)
Among the various novelties from exhibitors, one of the highlights of the day was the announcement of a new route by Azul Linhas Aéreas. Daniel Bicudo, the company’s Marketing director, announced a flight to the capital of Paraguay, with departures from Viracopos (SP) and Paraná – operating year-round -, Santa Catarina, and Pernambuco – with frequencies during the high season.
Together for the first time at WTM Latin America, Latam and Delta Air Lines celebrated the most recent results of the joint venture. In January and February 2024, the companies recorded a 42% growth in the number of passengers on flights between Brazil and the United States. Data from the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) show that the two airlines transported 297 thousand passengers between the two countries in the period and accounted for 39% of this market, surpassing the 34% market share reached in early 2023.