Alejandro Fleming, Venezuela’s Tourism Minister

This event was attended by a delegation from Venezuela, made up of the People’s Power Minister of Tourism, Alejandro Fleming, executive director of the National Tourism Institute, David Rivas, representatives from state operator Venetur, and several private companies from that country. The minister of tourism answered some questions for Caribbean News Digital.

What has been the main objective of Venezuela’s attending FITCuba 2012?
To maintain the international travel promotion policy.
What achievements and important contacts do you think have been obtained at this edition of FITCuba?
These fairs represent negotiation spaces, to gain or maintain contacts, to grow these relations, as well as support the private sector that comes with us to this event. That’s how we succeed in two key elements: the first one is the direct negotiation with tour operators; the second one is maintaining relations with mass media. For instance, at this edition of FITCuba we held meetings with the representative of European TV channel Euronews, which is in charge of our audiovisual promotion, and they explained how Venezuela’s campaign has been developed, one of the better-positioned countries among the companies that make up Euronews.

According to that company’s statistics, we are being advertised at Euronews’ website and they told us that 700 thousand clicks have been registered through March at the site where Venezuela’s links are displayed. BBC is also interested in advertising Venezuela as a travel destination. Likewise, we worked on the promotion agreements with Grupo Excelencias, in order to promote the destination in different countries and languages through Caribbean News Digital and revistasexcelencias.com, including digital and printed media.

What do you make of the decision of moving the fair from Havana to one of the island’s keys?
It has been an excellent initiative.

Were you driven here or flown?
I came on a plane, but I’ll be driven back.

Do you think that travelling this way is positive for tour operators or visitors to know the country and its infrastructure?
Of course. That’s how our Venezuela International Travel Fair is conceived.

When is that Fair’s 2012 edition going to be held?
September 6 – 9, Caracas city.

Is any seminar or conference going to be held at this year’s edition of FitVen?
During FITCuba, we have agreed with the WTO the development of an international seminar titled, “Turismo como noticia (Tourism as news)”, to be given by Carlos Vogeler, that institution’s regional director for the Americas, and targeting social communicators and mass media, to provide tools that will help them to tackle the tourism communication.
Is FitVen a traveling fair?
Yes, we have used this model for several years. In 2009, it was held in Waraira Repano, in the mountain, to showcase a specific tourism niche. In 2010, within the framework of the Independence Bicentenary, in Caracas city, at Los Proceres space, an area that possesses historical infrastructure and we wanted to put it on the map. In 2011, we held it on Isla Margarita, in an effort to reposition that destination, because Colombia was our honorable guest and we know that Colombian tourists have Isla de Margarita among their favorite destinations. This year, we’re back in Caracas because we have a new proposal in terms of patrimonial, cultural and city tourism, and we also want to do it in other Venezuelan cities.

Multidestination is, in my opinion, another key element that interweaves the countries that make up ALBA. Is there any agreement among Cuba, Venezuela and those nations to boost that kind of tourism?
We haven’t considered it, but that’s a possibility since, from the tourism point of view, we are also a complement of the countries that make up ALBA, because we have peculiarities that attract tourists, let’s call it “extra ALBA”. We are presently working on La Ruta de los Libertadores, especially within the framework of our countries’ bicentenaries. It’s an Ecuadorian-Venezuelan initiative that reached out all ALBA countries; we’re working on the definition of that Route, so we can start marketing and positioning it.

Is there any multilateral agreement among ALBA countries for tourist circulation to be free from visa? Are there specific programs to encourage national tourists to travel to those countries?

In terms of visa for ALBA countries, from the travel approach, we didn’t deal with that matter because that falls on the chancellery field, foreign affairs. ALBA countries and our people are already allowed to travel with very advantageous conditions, especially due to that alliance that is the great chapeau, let’s say, which promotes travel exchange. It would be good to tackle the multidestination issue during the meetings of Tourism ministers, or look for any other mechanism that allows us to strengthen ALBA from the tourism outlook, a sector that is being invigorated in our countries.