FIEXPO Latin America improves as the main platform for business, knowledge, investments and development of the continent

Unprecedented results had the 2018 edition of FIEXPO Latin America, the great platform for the Latin American meetings industry.

With a rich agenda that included academic sessions, a political forum with 250 participants (debate of meetings tourism with the main government authorities of the segment of the Latin American region), a MICE Lab (laboratory for the development of new meetings), the exchange of business between three continents through meetings with executives from associations in the United States, Canada and Latin America and the presence of Barcelona (a model to follow as a meeting destination) as well as the participation of 10 special guests from the main international organizations representing the industry (JMIC, ICCA, COCAL, IAPCO, SITE), the recognition of JMIC to Latin America (Bogotá and Punta del Este for the Iceberg Project), record numbers of visitors and meetings, FIEXPO Latin America confirms once again its leadership as unique platform of business, knowledge, investments and development of the continent.

FIEXPO 2018 in figures

• Visitors: 1,695 who left an average of 2,712,000 dollars to the host city.
• Exhibitors: 318 companies within the pavilions of the different countries and 700 individual exhibitors (conventions bureaus, international hotel chains, convention centers, airlines, tourism secretariats, etc.).
• Buyers: reached the number of 712 - among 225 vip hosted buyers and 487 commercial visitors - who, among all, held a minimum of 6,543 meetings.

For four days, FIEXPO Latin America again became the wide stage of the continent where 22 countries showed their attractive offer as destinations for fairs, exhibitions, conventions, congresses, business meetings and incentive trips.

Jos Ramn Valente, minister of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile, and Mnica Zalaquett Said, under secretary of Tourism of Chile, officially opened the eleventh edition of FIEXPO together with the directors of the fair, Sergio Baritussio and Arnaldo Nardone.

Zalaquett Said said: "We are very happy to have inaugurated the second consecutive year of the fair in Chile. FIEXPO gives us a world of opportunities, both for the host country and for the countries that exhibit here. Latin America has great potential in the development of business tourism and this is a platform that helps us to achieve our goals."

On the other hand, Nardone expressed: "The meeting industry has grown at a dizzying pace.  It has become a dynamic axis of the economies of all countries and not only because of the economic impact but also because of the legacy of the meetings, which is also connected to all sectors of the economy."

"Today Latin America is doing well but it has to do much better and fairs such as FIEXPO work to enrich the development of our countries, to attract business for our continent. The FIEXPO platform aims at the continuous improvement of the business in our region and the professionalization to carry out the meetings industry services. We move in that direction. We will all be fine if we work as a great regional team."

In the closing ceremony, the creators of FIEXPO thanked the participation of exhibitors, buyers, regional and international authorities and ambassadors and invited them to accompany them in the last year of the cycle of three in Santiago and the next stage in Colombia with Cartagena as the host city.

At the end of the fair Baritussio commented: "We are highly satisfied with the results of this new edition. A total of 1,695 people visited the fair who left (based on the calculation of the average of a participant to an event, according to ICCA) 2,712,000 dollars in the city of Santiago regardless of what FIEXPO itself left for concept of construction of stands, rental of services, suppliers, etc."

"All this results, in a very measured calculation, that with the total business generated in all areas of FIEXPO and the projection of future business, the economic impact of the 2018 edition will exceed 360 million dollars."