Mexican destinations advance some novelties and strategies that will be presented at 42nd ABAV – International Tourism Expo

Recently, Eligio Serna Nájera, the Council’s COO, and Diana Pomar, head of Mexico’s office in Brazil, met Antonio Azevedo, president of ABAV Nacional, Leonel Rossi Junior, VP of International Affairs, and Salvador Saladino, the entity’s financial vice-president.

At the meeting, Diana Pomar said that even though tourists have been more and more interested in the Marietas Islands, one of this destinations’ main goals is to go beyond the sun-and-beach tourism and explore the country’s rich cultural heritage. The Yucatán Peninsula, for instance, is one of the country’s major bets, especially due to the wealthy maya culture it harbors. “We are introducing a new campaign, whose motto is ‘Live to believe.’ Our goal is to invite people to travel to Mexico,” Pomar said.

In an attempt to show the extensive influence the Mayas had in that country’s culture and history, the destination is organizing the exhibition “Mayas: Revelation of an endless time,” at the Oca Museum, in the Ibirapuera Park, in São Paulo. “We have never had an event of this cultural magnitude,” Pomar said, referring to the fact that the exhibition will be held in five countries in total. According to her, this initiative will reflect on ABAV Expo. “We also want to reach the end audience,” she added.

“The increasing search for Mexico’s tourist attractions—Brazil currently ranks fifth among the countries that send the most tourists to this destination—has also made us increase the area we occupy even more for next year’s edition,” said Eligio Serna Nájera, COO of the Mexico Tourism Promotion Council.

Institutional Profile

The 42nd ABAV International Tourism Expo is promoted by the Brazilian Travel Agencies Association (ABAV Nacional), with the support of the Tourism Ministry, the Brazilian Tourism Institute (Embratur), the São Paulo City Government, and São Paulo Turismo (SPTuris), the city’s tourism and events company, which manages the Anhembi Exhibition Park.

An international partner of BTL (Bolsa de Turismo de Lisboa) and ITB Berlin, ABAV Expo, the largest and most important international travel and tourism business fair of the Americas is sponsored by the Brazilian Support Service to Micro and Small Companies (Sebrae) and the National Confederation of Goods, Services and Tourism Trading (CNC), which manages one of the world’s largest social development systems—the Commerce Social Service (Sesc), operating in the education, health, culture and leisure fields, and the National Commercial Learning Service (Senac), which is the leading professional education agent in the goods, services and tourism trading sector.