Central America Travel Market 2024 Comes to an End with Good Numbers on the Board

The Central America Travel Market (CATM) 2024 has concluded in El Salvador. Under the slogan "Weaving Connections", it has already become the most important meeting in the region due to its ability to bring together key tourism stakeholders and the participation of high-level government officials from the region and a large number of representatives from the tourism sector.

Tour operators and wholesale buyers from Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy participated in CATM 2024, as well as tourism entrepreneurs from El Salvador, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic.

According to the Salvadoran Chamber of Tourism (CASATUR), one of the organizers of the CATM, this space placed Central America in a showcase for major tour operators to know first hand the regional tourism offer.

Prior to the start of the fair, businessmen and international visitors had the opportunity to explore different tourist destinations in El Salvador. They also participated in a night tour of the Historic Center of San Salvador, the second most visited tourist destination in the country.

Following its closing, which took place on April 19, the wholesale tour operators will visit destinations in other countries. The region ranked eleventh in the ranking of most visited destinations prepared by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN-Tourism).

Organized by CASATUR, CATA, the Federation of Central American Chambers of Tourism (FEDECATUR), the Ministry of Tourism and Corsatur, CATM 2024 reflected the joint effort between the private and public sectors in promoting tourism in the region.

The stands at CATM 2024 captivated visitors with their creativity and originality. Each space became a unique window into the region's tourism destinations, offering sensory and visual experiences that transported viewers to faraway places full of charm and adventure.

The main challenges of tourism in the region, the reduction of the carbon footprint as MSMEs contribute to reducing climate change and the importance of Experiential Marketing were the three conferences shared during the first day of CATM 2024.

A second forum, which had as panelists Juan Pablo Nieto, coordinator of the Reactur project of Fedecatur, the lawyer Irvin Flores of the Salvadoran Business Council for sustainable development, Carolina Vaiza, businesswoman and owner of the hotel árbol de fuego El Salvador, Ximena Loria, biologist and expert in actions for climate change in Costa Rica.

The event concluded with the promise and commitment to continue promoting, from the private initiative front, the integration of the Central American region in tourism and its opening to the main emitting markets of the planet.