With the purpose of strengthening the Magic Towns, the Secretariat of Tourism of the Government of Mexico (Sectur) effectively implemented various programs, one is changing the concept of Fair to Tianguis of Pueblos Mágicos, and the First International Tianguis of Magical Towns,will be from April 22 to 24, in Barcelona, Spain
. • The 1st. International Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos seeks to strengthen the image of these destinations in view of the international market, from April 22 to 24, in Barcelona, Spain.
• To the date, 80 buyers have been confirmed, who will be able to learn about the offer of the 132 Magical Towns that will be represented at the event.
• With these actions, the diversification of tourism are promoted and out of the 17th place in earning foreign currency and 40th in spending per capita.
The Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marqués, pointed out that the purpose of this strategy is to strengthen the image of these important destinations in view the international market and to fulfill the mandate of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, to promote the diversification of tourist destinations, as well as have much more attractive anchor.
He stressed that this initiative was promoted from the beginning of the administration, and to date 80 buyers have been confirmed, who will be able to learn about the offer of the 132 Magical Towns that will be represented, either in person or virtually.
In the First International Tianguis of Magical Towns, 14 states of the country will participate in person, presenting their localities and 11 municipalities, so it will be a total of 72 Magical Towns show their splendor to the Spanish market, informed Torruco Marqués.
He commented that this first international edition has the support of the Emirates airline as a strategic ally for its connectivity between Mexico City and Barcelona.
He stressed that the tourism from Spain is of great relevance for Mexico, since in 2021, it was the main European tourist market, with 19.9 percent of the total number of tourists, and the ninth in the ranking of countries that visit Mexico, with the arrival of 365 thousand 428 tourists by air, of which 19 thousand 124 from Barcelona.
He pointed out that, for this year, 348 flights from Barcelona to Mexico are scheduled, with an offer of 98 thousand 184 seats; which will represent tourist spending more than 22 million dollars. The head of Sectur recalled that in 2019 the Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos was held in person.
This strengthening strategy had the support of the governor of the state of Hidalgo, Omar Fayad Meneses, who trusted in this project. In that edition, the guest country was England, which participated with a replica of Big Ben made by artists from Tenango del Valle.
In this first Tianguis, Hidalgo’s presence will once again be monumental. Torruco Marqués added that, in 2020 and 2021, the digital version of the Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos was held, which, together with the face-to-face one, it is here to stay. In 2020, tour operators from 28 countries attended for the first time. In this 2022, the Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos will be held in the city of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, for which it has the support of Governor Alejandro Murat Hinojosa.
The Secretary of Tourism highlighted that the First International Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos is part of the actions for the diversification and promotion of the 235 places with a tourist vocation that Mexico has, including the 132 Magical Towns. He emphasized that at the end of 2018, tourism in Mexico was concentrated in six destinations, in addition, the country ranked 17th in foreign exchange earnings and number 40 in per capita spending.
“We are going with precision shots. The pandemic has caused new tourists to look for original, attractive and open destinations or sites that offer new experiences,” concluded Torruco Marqués.
Translated by Patricia Rubio
