Peru is scheduled to host the opening ceremony of the upcoming Berlin International Tourism Marketplace that will stretch from March 12 to 16 next year, a spokesperson for the world’s largest tourism fair said.

“We want to contribute to Peru’s promotion as an attractive, interesting and many-sided destination,” said Peter Koeppen, a spokesman for the ITB who also referred to the meetings on this matter held between event planners and Peruvian representatives.

TurEspaña will be at the World Tourism Exposition (WTE) to be held in Mexico from Sept. 24 to 28 at the Banamex Center of the nation’s capital with an estimated attendance of delegations from over two dozen countries.

Autonomous communities such as the Basque Country and all of Spain’s top hotel groups will come to the first edition of the WTE. Companies like Fil Hotels, Festival Cruises, Al Andaluz Trains and Transcantabrico, among many other Spanish firms, will showcase their very best products at the fair.

Under the sponsorship of the Tourist Professionals Association of Costa Rica (ACOPROT), execs from the leisure industry will gather in San Jose to attend the First Central American Marketplace –scheduled for Oct. 20 to 26- with a view to promote the local tourist product in the European market.

The South American Tourism Meeting, held last Thursday to Sunday in Caracas, Venezuela, with a turnout of authorities and execs from the industry’s private, public and mixed sectors, provided a big boost to the region’s economic development, Venezuelan tourism vice minister Filmar Castro expressed.

Cuba will hold a number of outstanding international events in the month of September, with such highlights as the International Transportation Fair; FIT 2003; the 18th Pan American Congress on Naval Engineering, Maritime Transportation and Port Engineering; the Benny More International Music Festival; Neurological Rehabilitation 2003; the Third World Congress on Information Technology, and the 22nd International Blue Marlin Fishing Tournament.

The city of Guadalajara will play host to the Tenth National Meeting of Mariachis and Charreria from Sept. 4 to 14, a one-and-only show that blends the most important elements of Mexico’s traditional culture and brings delight to those who get lucky enough to watch the presentations live, festival planners say.

The event comprises all general-interest factors: culture, tradition, music, cuisine and the peerless landscape of Guadalajara, one of Mexico’s most gorgeous and traditional regions.