Mexican Tourism Secretary Rodolfo Elizondo recognized the importance of the Acapulco Travel Marketplace, whose 30th edition will get cracking next week. However, he called for in-depth overhaul about the event´s format for future editions and toyed with the idea of turning the tradeshow into a huge Latin American fair. “I´m not going to debate whether the Acapulco marketplace is useful or not. The Tianguis has completed its cycle in one of Mexico´s major travel stages. What I wonder is whether we should cling to the same format or just shift to a new national and international reality, to a dog-eat-dog competition with far bigger markets,” Mr. Elizondo noted.

The Colombian government is requesting the help of the Cairns Group –made up of 17 crop-exporting nations- in an effort to clinch the home of the World Tourism Organization Assembly in 2007. The Cairns Group, huddled in Cartagena de Indias during the 17th Ministerial Summit, received a letter from Colombia´s Trade, Industry and Tourism Minister, Jorge Botero, that made the request official.

The Organizing Committee of the sixth edition of the Ecuador International Travel Mart –scheduled from April 20 to 22- is gearing up preparations with a view to snare a much bigger turnout of tour operators and travel agents this time around. Up to now, some 70 international travel buyers and 114 domestic purchasers have confirmed their attendance to this event that will take place at the Cuenca Conference Center.

Peru´s history-laden travel destinations of Cusco and Machu Picchu will be home to the second edition of the National and International Tour Operator Mart (BONIOTUR 2005 is the Spanish acronym). The event will take place from April 22 to 24 in the facilities of the Diego Quispe Tito Higher Autonomous School of Fine Arts in Cusco.

The Acapulco Tourism Tianguis (Marketplace) 2005 –the country´s largest tourism trade fair- is expected to host its largest and most successful fair ever this year, on its 30th anniversary. From April 10 to 13, this international fair, taking place in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, will host 1,100 buyers and 19,000 appointments in the 425 business suites on site at the show using a high-tech online appointment system.

The public and private sectors of the Dominican Republic have chipped in some 20 million pesos for the Caribbean nation´s major travel and tourism event, the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE 2005), scheduled to unfold from April 6 to 8. Funds contributed for DATE 2005 have been funneled into operational costs, such as transportation of international news media representatives whose plane tickets, hotel accommodations and other programmed activities will be paid for. Other funds have been used to produce the Dominican Night and the nightly opening ceremony.