These are, in alphabetical order, the 10 members elected to the WTM Latin America Advisory Board, which has Mariana Aldrigui as chair for the 2023-2025 term.
- Ana Biselli Aidar, President of Resorts Brasil
- Bruno Reis, Market, Fairs and Events Manager at Embratur
- Danielle Roman, President of Interamerican
- Estella Farina, Director General of NCL
- Fabio Godinho, CEO of CVC Corp
- Fabrício Amaral, President of Fornatur
- Luis Ferrinho, President of Omnibees
- Mariella Volppe, Head of Dissemination at the Uruguayan Ministry of Tourism
- Natalia Pisoni, Coordinator of Inprotur, and
- Paola Gómez, Representative of the Dominican Republic Tourist Office in Brazil
The executives at the head of this Board take up their mandate working on the planning of WTM Latin America, one of the most comprehensive B2B events in the Latin American travel and tourism industry, whose 2024 edition has been confirmed for April 15-17 at Expo Center Norte in São Paulo. In addition, its work continues during and after the trade show, with evaluations that allow us to understand the event role in the market.
Bianca Pizzolito, head of WTM Latin America, highlights the importance of the work and contribution of these executives. “We’re at a very important moment in our event, which has already been consolidated in different ways and, precisely because of this, encourages us to find new opportunities for development and action, based on new perspectives that take into account the changes that have taken place and are yet to take place in our sector,” she says.
The executive adds that “this is a strong and diverse board, capable of anticipating trends and working on the future that is already present throughout the world in general and in Latin America in particular. For us, bringing together so many members who represent the region in a Board that generates high-level discussions and reinforces the Latin American aspect of the event is a source of great pride and assurance of assertiveness.”
Presidency
With more than 25 years’ experience in the tourism industry, Mariana Aldrigui is a PhD professor and researcher who is recognized for her work in understanding the role of tourism from an economic, political and social perspective. “I’ve been involved in curating talks at WTM Latin America since the first edition, I supported the construction of the grid related to responsible tourism and I served on the diversity committee, as well as being a member of the board that I’ll be chairing,” she explains, stressing the importance of the group.
Mariana Aldrigui reinforces Bianca Pizzolito’s explanation by pointing out that the very composition of the board, with professionals from different Latin American countries, ensures that the event addresses regional issues and challenges. “These are people who are active in the market, who have been working in different segments for a long time and have a great repertoire in terms of impacts, solutions and challenges,” she says.
Despite the business bias as a factor that has consolidated the importance of WTM Latin America, Mariana explains that the tripod that underpins the event includes networking with the best professionals in the market and sharing innovative content. “The three aspects that have marked WTM for all these years and other agendas that are becoming more and more relevant to world tourism are also being dealt with responsibly, such as technology, sustainability, responsibility, diversity and inclusion,” she recalls.
For the chair of the WTM Latin America Advisory Board, it is through actions related to all these pillars that the challenges are being overcome. “It’s natural for this to be a year in which technology has a lot of appeal because of everything we’ve seen in artificial intelligence, in the impacts and advances in relation to promotion and marketing, but it’s also through technology that we’re going to expand equality, inclusion and diversity actions and give more visibility to successful cases of responsible tourism and sustainable tourism,” she says.
Mariana emphasizes the ability of the group of advisors to come up with ideas for innovation, as well as drawing up future scenarios for the market and, consequently, for the event. “There are today big players operating with a lot of resources in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere, but that can’t be replicated here because it’s not the reality in Latin America,” he recalls. “Brazil, Argentina and Peru, in particular, were countries that faced great difficulties and it is also necessary to consider these economic and geopolitical contexts when creating alternatives so that the exhibitors and entrepreneurs involved can also optimize their results,” she concludes.