Mexico City to host major world tourist event

Mexico City will put on its best bib and tucker to host the 2003 World Tourism Expo (WTE) scheduled for September 24 to 27 with the attendance of representatives from as many as 30 countries from all continents.

This major meeting will gather all sectors from the world tourism, national, regional and local authorities, tourism offices, wholesalers and retailers, airlines, other transportation companies, hotel chains, entertainment centers, theme parks and other tourist service providers.

The gathering will allow participants to collect updated information on the sector and keep themselves posted on the latest techniques and products.

At the same time, the WTE will serve as a one-and-only opportunity to forge alliances and close agreements aimed at achieving social and economic development.

Mexico’s tourism secretary Leticia Navarro said the WTE is an ambitious project that seeks to put Mexico up to par with the huge events linked to the leisure industry that are held in other parts of the world, such as Spain’s FITUR and Germany’s BIT.

In the same breath, Mrs. Navarro said the WTE wants to further promote tourism in the country among the world’s top traveler-sending markets.

For Mexico’s top tourism authorities, the WTE will be the perfect place for the establishment of business ties between the nation’s service providers and operators with the rest of the world.

The event will feature regional pavilions decked out in keeping with each and every country’s traditions, plus a global pavilion aimed at showcasing the services and products of international megabuck companies. Some of these firms will unveil new lines of products as world-class experts will lecture on the latest developmental trends within the sector at a global scale.

The 2003 WTE is the result of an agreement inked by its three planners: CIE, Tradex and Messe Frankfurt. The CIE is Latin America’s largest organizer of corporate and entertainment events. Tradex International Expositions is a U.S. company that will combine the boost to regional businesses with the presentation of global opportunities for the international development of the sector.

Messe Frankfurt is one of the world heavyweights when it comes to the organization of global-scale fairs and expositions.

The WTE also counts on the support of Mexico’s Tourism Department and the Tourism Promotion Council, let alone the endorsement of some of the greatest tourism organization both in and out of the country.

The World Tourism Expo will take place at Las Americas Exposition and Conference Center in Mexico City. The exhibit area will comprise some 16,000 square meters divided in five pavilions and other spaces.

The first two days (Sept. 24 and 25) will be reserved for professional buyers, while the remaining couple of sessions (Sept. 26 and 27) will be saved for other purchasers and the general public.

Special heed will be paid to the promotion of markets in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, without neglecting the rest of mainland America.