Published on : Friday, April 1, 2016
WTM Latin America has a firm position about its purpose of generating business. The second day of the 2016 edition, on Wednesday (March 30) was marked by two highly disputed speed networking sessions between exhibitors and buyers. The tradeshow takes place until tomorrow (Thursday) at Expo Center Norte, in the city of São Paulo, simultaneously to the Braztoa Business Event.
In the morning, the hosted buyers had the chance of seeing the main tourism destinations and companies present at the event. According to Roberto Garcia, buyer from the North American travel club, Rovia, with approximately 600,000 members offering products, services and exclusive tours, took part in a total of 32 business meetings on Tuesday, the opening day, and 24 this Wednesday. According to Mr. Garcia, this year’s meetings were even better than last year’s. “There are many quality options for my company,” he said.
Exhibitors also approved the speed networking sessions. “I enjoyed them intensely. I made many contacts in a short period of time and that was very useful, with many receptive and diverse buyers,” guarantees Don Williams, owner of Capemoor flats, from the United Kingdom.
According to Vilma Ipanaqué, general manager of PTS Peru tourism operator, the Speed Networking format is excellent and highly efficient for a first contact. “Here you will find operators from all over the world. A show like the WTM Latin America is really worth the visit, as we can do business not only with Brazil, but with many countries from around the world,” she says. Brazilian professionals also took the opportunity to do business.
In the afternoon, the WTM Buyers’ Club members, an exclusive business club comprised of senior decision-makers from the travel industry responsible for direct purchases met with exhibitors. Lucy Hillyard, sales manager of Historic Royal Palaces, organization that unites five historical monuments in the United Kingdom held meetings with 15 professionals in approximately 25 minutes. “It was very productive, I reinforced some contacts and met new operators,” she said. Yet product analyst from MMT Gapnet, Kátia Silva, acting as a buyer was amazed at the results: “The session is world class, everything is very organized. I’ve found all the new things I expected, not to mention business opportunities.”
“We have maintained our purpose of holding an event which is completely focused on generating business and opportunities for our exhibitors and visitors, and we have to go that extra mile every single year,” guaranteed Lawrence Reinisch, WTM Latin America Director.
Fornatur
WTM Latin America is also the stage for governmental debate. Another highlight of the second day was the Fornatur – Fórum Nacional dos Secretários e Dirigentes Estaduais de Turismo (National Forum of State Secretaries and Directors of Tourism) meeting. A total of 24 out of the 27 State Tourism Secretariats took part in the meeting. During the meeting, the new entity board was elected. Nilo Sergio Felix, the current Secretary of Tourism of the State of Rio de Janeiro was elected Chair. “This show is amazing, with over 800 exhibitors and over 7,000 visitors it was essential for the success of our event, as it guaranteed mass presence of our members,” stated Felix.
For the third year in a row, the event also counted on the launch of the Braztoa Yearbook 2016 with unprecedented data from the Brazilian tourism market. One of the main focal points of the study was a stronger domestic tourism, which accounts for 60.17% of the demand in travel made through operators associated with the entity and by revenues in the order of R$ 6.43 billion—a 6.41% growth year-over-year.
Tags: Global, News Pick, Travel Event
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