Named “The Future of the Tourism Industry in Brazil: the visions of the UNWTO, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Presidential Candidates,” the second plenary meeting of the 42nd Brazilian Travel Agencies Congress will be held on September 25, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.. Márcio Favilla Lucca de Paula, Chief Competitiveness, Foreign Affairs, and Partnerships of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Brazil’s Tourism Minister Vinicius Lages have already confirmed their presence. The chairman of ABAV Nacional, Antonio Azevedo, will mediate the meeting.

The participants will talk about the trends of the industry and how they reflect on the Brazilian tourism market. Ten days before the presidential election, the plenary meeting will also count on the presence of the three top presidential candidates or their representatives, so they can expose their proposals for the sector.

Presented in alphabetical order, each participant of the debate will have 15 minutes to talk. After that, the mediator will ask a few questions referring to the major concerns of the industry; the questions will be sent to the participants in advance after they confirm their presence. Visiting the expo at the end of the meeting is optional.

Márcio Favilla Lucca de Paula, from UNWTO, will present global data, expectations of the travel industry, and likely impacts on the domestic economy. Vinícius Lages will talk about the National Tourism Plan (2015-2020). Among other items, the Minister will introduce programs and goals, talk about strategies to increment the capital and foreign tourist inflow, ways to improve the quality and competitiveness of the Brazilian tourism industry, and plans of the Brazilian tourism industry for mega events.

The 42nd Brazilian Travel Agencies Congress will be held from September 24 to 26 and will be fully dedicated to the tourism trade, allowing for the exchange of experiences and knowledge, in addition to promoting the debate on themes related to the daily activities of travel agents.

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.