Chile to Hold Ministerial Travel Summit of the Americas

Two dozen nations will attend the Ministerial Travel Summit of the Americas scheduled for May 25 and 26 in Santiago de Chile. The event s aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and exchanging experiences on tourism, Oscar Santelices, chief of Chile´s National Tourism Service (SERNATUR) informed earlier this week.

The summit is planned and convened by the Regional Commission of the Americas (CAM) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in an effort to share views among countries in the region.

Organizers are expecting the attendance of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, among other delegations.

Parallel to the Ministerial Travel Summit, planners have organized an international seminar on convention, congress and business travel, a market niche that Chile is very interested in boosting up.

Business travel accounts for 16 percent of Chile´s total foreign arrivals on a yearly basis, though profits reaped by this particular segment are much bigger than gains snared by traditional travel.

Both the ministerial summit and the international seminar will get underway on May 25 by Chilean Minister of Economy Jorge Rodriguez and WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli.