La Cita Latin American trade show showcases Florida’s west coast
Latin American travel trade show La Cita has touted a successful showing for its fifth annual event, introducing travel buyers to the west coast of Florida for the first time.
Held in St. Petersburg from August 29 to 31, it was hosted by Visit St. Pete, showcasing the region to major travel buyers across Latin America.
It was attended by 147 buyer delegates 173 delegates and along with media and various other attendees, the total delegation count reached 447.
A total of 2798 appointments were pre-scheduled and many more made during the networking events, said managing director Rick Still.
"La Cita V had the best ratio of buyer to supplier delegates of any travel industry event I’ve seen in my career. La Cita is all about business being personal and the high level of activity and energy we saw throughout the business sessions told us that the foundation of many business ventures was launched, Still said.
"Bringing La Cita to St. Petersburg has been an incredible pleasure … it’s a perfect storm of opportunity where buyers will see new and proven products and discuss ideas and opportunities in a part of Florida which many have not seen."
Major sponsors of the event included the airports of Orlando International, Tampa International, St. Petersburg, plus Atlanta’s Hartsfield – Jackson.
Commercial air carriers supporting La Cita were Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Copa Airlines, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue.
It is also a big win for host destination St Pete/Clearwater and the Florida Gulf Coast, with key travel decision makers likely experiencing its attractions for the first time.
"Hosting La Cita gives us a unique opportunity to welcome the vibrant Latin America market to the most popular tourism destination on the Florida Gulf Coast. It will provide the perfect place for La Cita attendees to meet and for great deals to occur," said Ana Fernandez, director Latin America , at Visit St. Pete Clearwater.
La Cita was established in 2013 as a by-invitation, one-on-one appointment conference offering networking opportunities for key travel industry professionals.
La Cita’s goal is to develop partnerships to facilitate inbound travel from key markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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