Mèrida, Yucatàn, (May 20, 2021). As part of the Mexico stand and other nine states, from May 21 to 23, Yucatán will participate in the International Tourism Fair (Fitur) in Madrid, Spain, to strengthen commercial relations and exchanges with participating destinations from 54 countries.
Just before the declaration of the pandemic in 2020, this was the last promotional and business event that took place in the tourism sector worldwide, in which Yucatán had an active and successful intervention, such as It will do so in this 41st edition. Just on the first day of activities, the Yucatecan delegation made 30 business appointments.
In this way, Michelle Fridman Hirsch, head of the Tourism Development Secretariat (Sefotur), will sit down to talk with different industry sectors: airlines, non-governmental organizations, and specialized media.
At the Fitur, destinations from different countries hold business meetings one by one, with the main buyers and most important travel agencies in the European market. They expose their tourist offer to international authorities and bodies such as the World Tourism Organization (OMT).
In addition to these scheduled business meetings, Yucatán held a meeting with the executive director of UNWTO, Manuel Buttler, with whom they discussed a strategic agenda of actions, which include the presentation of a series of programs and products, as well as sustainable and inclusive projects such as the Maya villages program, an agent of change for rural communities in the state of Yucatan.
In turn, the possible inclusion of the Yucatan Tourism Observatory in the Observatories program of the UNWTO MST Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism was discussed, whose approach includes environmental and social sustainability, as well as the possibility that the territory is the headquarters of some of the events of this Organization in the future, among various other topics.
Fridman Hirsch was invited to participate in Fitur Woman, made up of a select group of leading women in tourism, ministers from various countries, senior officials from UNWTO and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), among others, who meet to discuss policies to strengthen this sector in the industry.
Fitur 2021 is carried out under the highest internationally established biosafety standards, limiting and maintaining control over the allowed capacity, the mandatory use of a mask, as well as taking temperature and negative PCR tests. Also, it keeps track of safety distances and air renewal in the pavilions.
This meeting is one of the main fairs of the tourism industry worldwide and is a leader for the Ibero-American markets. Together with Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) Berlin and the World Travel Market (WTM) London, it is one of the three most important Tourism Fairs in Europe and worldwide.
Sefotur was part of the inauguration of Fitur 2021 at the Mexico stand, with the company of the Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marqués, and representatives of the 10 states of the Republic included. According to established protocols, the number of business appointments and work meetings is following the number of participants and attendees.
In its 2020 edition, the Fair received 143 thousand professionals from 165 countries and 110 thousand visitors from the general public. Yucatán stood out by setting up 120 business meetings with different sectors in the tourism industry and held a gastronomic show for more than 200 people, including industry leaders and the media.
Fitur is based in Spain because, in 2019, it was the most important source market for Mexico in Europe, behind the United Kingdom. The land of the Mayab (Yucatàn), is in the top five of the most visited destinations for this segment, which has an average overnight stay of up to 11 nights per trip. Most walkers arrive for vacation, with an estimated economic benefit of 1,200 pesos per person, including transportation.
Source: La Jornada Maya
