The Latin American Confederation of Congresses and Related Events Organizers (COCAL is the Spanish acronym) has just wrapped up an open forum in Uruguay with regional airlines in an effort to exchange views and experiences aimed at making the entire region take a bigger bite off the international incentive and convention market. COCAL, gathering national and hemispheric federations involved in planning congresses and related events, is a non-profitable organization based in Buenos Aires empowered with both national and international outreach.

OSA Alliance, an organization that unites Spanish travel agencies, is holding its second congress in Cuba with the participation of 150 travel agents from Latin America. According to the event´s planners, the conclave will take place in the travel circuit of Guardalavaca, in the eastern Cuban province of Holguin.

“The World Under Just One Roof” is the slogan of the 2004 World Tourism Exposition (WTE), going on in Mexico City from Sept. 23 to 25. This time around, there are five theme pavilions linked to the so-called convention tourism, as well as to ecotourism, spa, golf and cruises. As a matter of fact, the latter is highly important for the host country as Mexico holds 45 percent of the world’s total number of cruise passengers that sail around the seven seas every year.

Paraguay’s First International Travel Marketplace (FITPAR), an event organized by the Paraguayan Travel Agency Association and the National Tourism Department, will unfold on November 20 and 21 in Asuncion’s Sheraton Hotel. The fair’s main objective is to strike the attention of all segments within the travel industry by means of a high-quality meeting packed with programs and special activities that could help the South American country’s tradeshow grab a higher slot among the world’s major events of its kind.

Companies from seventeen countries have confirmed their attendance to the Eighth International Transportation Fair (FIT 2004) scheduled from September 22 to 25 at EXPOCUBA Fairgrounds in the outskirts of Havana. Germany, Argentina, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, China, Spain, France. Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Panama, Russia, Sweden and Cuba will be the participating nations.

Panama is bent on bringing investment to the country during the Panama Week 2004 scheduled to take place in Washington next November, informed Ricardo Eskildsen, chairman of the U.S.-Panama Corporate Council. Mr. Eskildsen explained that the tenth edition of the Panama Week will feature a tight agenda full of topics dealing with world trade trends, tourism, transportation and telecommunication technology.