São Paulo will host the event later this month

A number of high-profile European travel organisations and businesses will exhibit in Brazil for the inaugural World Travel Market Latin America, taking place in São Paulo this April.

World Travel Market Latin America, the leading global event for the Latin American travel industry, reveals that interest from European exhibitors started following the decision of the German National Tourist Board to become an official country partner for the event.

The importance of Brazil as an outbound market for Europe has prompted the European Travel Commission to take a stand at a Brazilian travel show for the first time in its 65-year history.

The ETC is a not-for-profit organisation which promotes Europe to the world, and is funded by its 33 National Tourism Organisation members.

ETC will host a number of events at World Travel Market Latin America, including a series of think-tanks which will explain the appeal of Europe as a long-haul destination for Brazilian travellers under the tagline “Discover Europe”.

ETC is inviting senior speakers from key European travel associations, tourist boards and the private sector.

ETC members include France, Spain and Germany as well as emerging destinations such as Montenegro, Latvia and Estonia.

Furthermore, Eurowelcome, a UK and Ireland inbound specialist with offices in London and Edinburgh, is exhibiting.

It provides services to leisure and MICE individuals and groups, with a specialist team for professional football teams coming to the UK.

Elsewhere, Russia is well represented, with St Petersburg Tourism and GrandRus Tours highlighting the attractions of Russia’s second-largest city to the Brazilian market.

Austria Trend Hotels & Resorts is another first-time exhibitor.

It has thirty properties in Austria, including family-run properties, romantic palaces or designer city hotels. 

Santa’s Resort Kakslauttanen in Lapland, Finland, will be targeting Brazilian fans of Father Christmas.

The year-round resort includes several attractions like Santa’s own house, where Santa receives visitors during the winter time.

In summer-time the visitors can exercise in Santa’s resort gold panning with Santa’s Elves.

Another advocate of Scandinavia exhibiting for the first time is Trans Nordic Tours.

Based in Denmark, it provides inbound services in ten countries in the region, including Greenland, Iceland and Lithuania.

Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia will join forces under the ‘European Quartet, One Melody, Central Europe Four’ slogan, promoting the delights of Central Europe.

Italy will enjoy a strong presence at the show with both the regions of Veneto and Toscana taking their own pavilions alongside ENIT – the Italian Ministry of Tourism.

Reed Travel Exhibitions director WTM Latin America Lawrence Reinisch said: “Interest in the first World Travel Market Latin America has been outstanding.

“We are especially pleased to bring a number of European exhibitors to Brazil for the first time.

“This high level of first time interest demonstrates the ability a Reed Travel Exhibitions event has to endorse and enhance a market as well as the global power of the World Travel Market brand.

“The new exhibitors and buyers brought to the region by WTM Latin America will see a large amount of extra business conducted benefiting both the Brazilian inbound and outbound markets.”

WTM Latin America will host some 1,000 exhibiting companies from around the world, and is expected to attract more than 7,000 visitors over the three days of the show; April 23rd-25th 2013.

For Leisure, MICE and Business Travel, WTM Latin America will be the platform for the Latin American travel industry to conduct business and become one of the most important regions in the global travel and tourism industry.