The Minister of Tourism in Uruguay, Tabaré Viera, emphasized the importance of positioning the country as a destination for event and meeting tourism, as it generates a higher influx of foreign currency than other areas within the sector.
According to Viera, developing the subsector of events and meetings tourism is crucial as it helps to diversify the tourist offerings throughout the year.
In an interview with the Uruguayan Presidency’s press service, he stated that participants in this type of tourism tend to spend three times more than leisure tourists and often return to the destination accompanied by their families.
Uruguay has made progress in the international ranking of events and meetings tourism, moving up three positions to 49th place compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, according to the International Congress and Convention Association.
Minister Viera led Uruguay’s delegation to the Fiexpo Latin America event held in Panama this week.
The event brought together international associations, corporate buyers, and exhibitors representing over 80 destinations worldwide.
The Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with regional governments and private operators, has been actively promoting incentives to regain optimal conditions for the growth of the meeting tourism segment.
In 2022, Uruguay organized 121 events related to meeting tourism, including 23 international and 83 regional gatherings.
Before the pandemic, in 2019, Uruguay welcomed 3.2 million international tourists, with the tourism sector contributing approximately eight percentage points to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).