The jewel of Uruguayan tourism par excellence and one of the corners of the country that has grown in population during the pandemic, is committed to reinventing itself by holding global events that allow it not only to achieve greater visibility but also to reach new audiences.
An example of this is the holding of the 67th Regional Commission of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the Americas and the International Tourism Congress - the latter by the Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay. Along the same lines, two weeks ago the UNESCO Conference for World Press Freedom Day was held. These types of meetings confirm the growing trend of the congress and convention sector.
"When we talk about complementary products to sun and sand and breaking seasonality, one of the big bets, for a long time, has been on conferences and events, which, like those of this type, also position you internationally," Martín Laventure, general director of Tourism for the Maldonado Municipality (southeast), explained to the EFE news agency.
He mentioned the city's Convention Centre, inaugurated in 2016 with the presentation of the Platinum Awards for Ibero-American cinema, or the private complex Enjoy, where the UNWTO meeting was held until this Friday and which has special rooms for congresses and events.
"The city is increasingly convinced of this. Therefore, all services also have to do with this, because people aren't just at the event venue; they then go out and explore it and have to find a city and its people committed to providing good service," Laventure said.
To encourage this type of event, the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay, Ignacio Curbelo, stressed that, in addition to the attractions of the destination, Uruguay offers event organizers exemption from VAT (22%) by decree. This reaffirms that the objective of promoting the country as a meeting point for professionals from different fields and different parts of the world is not a mere coincidence, but that the government itself intends to support it with a series of public policies that bring them closer to this goal.
Source: EFE News Agency
