FIEXPO 2015, all Latin America under one same roof

FIEXPO 2015, 8^th edition of the Latin American and Caribbean Meetings and Incentive Exhibition, took place from June 1^st to 3^rd in Lima, Peru. The show gathered Convention Bureaus, Conference Centres and Tourism Boards of most countries in Latin America, as well as many other important regional and international stakeholders of the Meetings Industry such as COCAL (Latin American Federation of Professional Congress Organizers) and the Latin America and the Caribbean Convention & Visitors Bureaus. The show is supported by ICCA, hence the presence of Nina Freysen-Pretorius, Global ICCA President, who also gave some insights into the challenges of being a PCO in the 21^st century.

On the first day of the show took place the second edition of the Latin American Political Forum on the Meetings Industry. Ministers and Deputy Ministers from different Latin American countries presented the assets of their home countries for the Meetings Industry and discussed about the importance of developing together the MICE Industry. The following topics were covered:

• Convention Tourism as a tool for social development: contribution to local communities
• How to market each country’s tourism products to Congress participants
• Are tax exemptions a positive practice for the Meetings Industry?

The last day of the show during the closing ceremony, Ms Magali Silva Velarde–Álvarez, Peru's Minister of Commerce, Foreign Trade, and Tourism, stated that 138 hosted buyers have visited FIEXPO 2015, which represents an increase of 10% from the previous year; 824 trade visitors attended the show, 58% more than 2014 edition.

This growth showcases indeed the importance of the development of the MICE Industry in these countries and the great potential of congress and incentive destinations in Latin America.

FIEXPO 2016 will take place in Lima from May 30^th to June 1^st.

For more information about FIEXPO, visit:

 www.fiexpo-latam.com