Preparations are in high gear for the 37th edition of Tianguis Turistico 2012, Mexico’s largest annual tourism trade show.
The conference, hosted jointly by Puerto Vallarta and the Rivera Nayarit, will run from March 25 to 28. Business sessions and appointments between buyers and suppliers will take place at the International Conference Center in Puerto Vallarta, while delegates will be accommodated in hotels and resorts in both venues.
More than 500 companies and 6,000 delegates will participate in the conference, an increase of more than 24% over the 2011 event in Acapulco. In addition, more than 200 international media will attend and report on Tianguis.
“We have high registration numbers from buyers and exhibitors,” said Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, COO of the Mexico Tourism Board. “From the business point of view, Tianguis is critical as a showplace for the tourism product in Mexico.”
The Riviera Nayarit will host the welcome reception on March 25 at the Marina Rivera Nayarit in La Cruz del Huanacaxtle, a fishing village on Banderas Bay 15 miles from Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit created two special drinks for Tianguis, called Vallarta Passion and Tequila Aguachil, which will be served as the official cocktails at the opening reception.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon will cut the ribbon on March 26 to officially open the conference. Actor Alec Baldwin will make a guest appearance at the convention center and at an evening reception.
Other events planned before, during and after Tianguis include cultural performances, two golf tournaments, a polo competition in San Pancho, and sailing and watersports activities.
In addition, a number of pre- and postconference fam trips will visit nearby destinations, including Costalegre; San Sebastian del Oeste, a former mining town with colonial-style architecture; San Andres Cohamiata, a small mountain community; Guadalajara, the birthplace of mariachi and tequila; Parque Nacional de la Tovara, a bird sanctuary fed by the Pacific Ocean; and the port city of San Blas, with beaches, colonial history and a Spanish fort.
Restaurant Week Tianguis 2012 will offer specially priced three-course gourmet menus at several restaurants in both locations.
Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara emphasized that the decision to hold Tianguis at a different site every year strengthens the tourism sector, making the event into a platform for business that promotes all tourist destinations in Mexico.
The colonial city of Puebla, west of Mexico City, will host Tianguis in 2013; the state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya are located, will be the site of Tianguis 2014.
Original source: travelweekly
