MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay seeks to become attractive to global meeting organizers

The Uruguayan space hosted more than 40 individual meetings and four presentations at the Las Vegas event

Uruguay's Tourism Minister Tabaré Viera headed the South American country's delegation at IMEX America 2022, a convention held in Las Vegas to promote the industry of global meetings, ceremonies, and incentive travel and arguably the largest event on the subject.

The team sought to position the country as a destination for North American customers by establishing business liaisons and showcasing Uruguay's infrastructure and business capabilities before over 2,400 potential buyers.

During the event, Viera held a key meeting with Brazilian International Tourism Promotion Agency (Embratur) Chairman Silvio Nascimento, to discuss joint promotion efforts and the upcoming tourism season for the region and regional connectivity.

Viera also met with International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) President James Reed, and with the head of IMEX, Ray Bloom, together with Executive Director Carina Bauer.

Uruguay had a 28-square-meter stand with spaces for private and group meetings and participating operators. During the three-day event at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas this week, the Uruguayan space hosted more than 40 individual meetings and four presentations.

Viera highlighted the fair's size, the number of participants it had, and also the number of people visiting it.

In a separate event, the VIII Regional Meeting of Cruises and Nautical Tourism was held in the Uruguayan department of Colonia to boost activity in the region. Deputy Tourism Minister Remo Monzeglio said the goal was to devise strategies to increase cruise tourism, on which the Brazilian, Argentine, and Chilean participants agreed.

“The cruise companies of the world want to come to Uruguay because it is a safe country, they like our ports and Montevideo is a service port. The expectation is very good, there are almost 200 reservations for cruise calls between Montevideo and Punta del Este,” Monzeglio stressed.

Colonia Mayor Carlos Moreira Reisch also highlighted the importance of tourism for the department through its marinas and passenger ports.