The Secretary of Tourism of Mexico's Sinaloa State, Marco Antonio García Castro has promised that the annual Tianguis tourism fair, scheduled to unfold in Mazatlan in April of next year, will be the "best in history."
His remarks were made during a press conference on June 20 after rumors started circulating that the event might be canceled or moved to a different location in Mexico. García promised the event will unfold as planned, from April 16-18, 2018, re-confirming the original announcement made by Federal Secretary of Tourism Enrique de la Madrid Cordero in February of this year.
Garcia said plans for the tourism expo, which welcomes more than a thousand tourism buyers from around the world, are already "very advanced" and that Tianguis will be "stronger than ever in Mazatlan."
Tourism Secretary de la Madrid, who visited Mazatlan on June 29, reaffirmed the event would proceed as planned.
Rumors of the event's cancellation began circulating in mid-June after several elected state officials suggested that recent "violent events" in the southern part of the state might be a reason to reconsider holding the fair in Sinaloa.
During his visit, the federal tourism secretary blasted the elected officials as "irresponsible" for suggesting the event be canceled. Those remarks "damage the image of Mazatlán and of all of Sinaloa," said de la Madrid.
Garcia echoed the sentiment and said political players should be more cautious since the events did not happen in major tourist areas and highlighting them could create uncertainty among visitors.
Tianguis is particularly important, said Garcia, because it will play a vital role in introducing a "new face of Sinaloa" to people from 88 countries around the world. (Some 88 nations were reportedly in attendance at the 2017 Tianguis in Acapulco.)
Sinaloa Governor, Quirino Ordaz Coppel said Tianguis brings with it an opportunity to demonstrate the natural, cultural and gastronomic offerings of the state. He also noted that tourism to the state is already growing and from January through April of this year it increased 4.3 percent over the same period last year. While domestic tourism is up 3.8 percent, international visitation has grown 7.1 percent so far this year.
Government and tourism officials have previously said they are planning to spend approximately 40 million pesos ($2.2 million) to coordinate and promote the event, including investing funds to significantly expand the Mazatlan convention center.
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Official figures for Tianguis 2017 held in Acapulco, indicate the event was attended by 973 companies and 1,608 buyers from 88 countries. In total, there were 44,322 business appointments, reflecting a 35 percent growth over 2015. The economic impact of this year's event is believed to have topped 200 million pesos ($11 million.)
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