Monday 31 May 2004 saw the launch of the LACIME 2004 Seminar Programme at the Hilton Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil. LACIME 2004 is the First Latin American & Caribbean Incentive & Meetings Exhibition, targeting the expanding worldwide incentive, business travel and meetings industry.

ABAV President, Tasso Gadzanis, welcomed the programme; “Today we have to use creativity to penetrate new market niches. LACIME 2004 will be an invaluable tool for the travel agent,” he said.

Taking place 22 – 25 June 2004 at Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil, the Seminar Programme comprises a series of presentations and workshops led by leading industry organisations including ICCA, MPI and SITE. The topics to be discussed include how to position Brazil as a brand in the international market; the responsibilities of government and private enterprise in developing the sector; to what extent exchange rates and cultural diversity can attract new investment; and the quality of infrastructure for meetings and incentive travel in Brazil and Latin America.

According to Juan Pablo De Vera, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Brazil, LACIME 2004 will have 6,000 square metres dedicated to more than 200 direct exhibitors, 3,000 visitors, and 300 Hosted Buyers interested in investing in incentive and meeting travel destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

For Eduardo Sanovicz, president of Embratur and vice-president of ICCA, the fact that LACIME 2004 is taking place in Brazil will reinforce the importance of Latin American destinations for global meeting and business travel organisers. “With this event we begin Latin America’s ascension as an international player,” he said.

For more information about LACIME 2004 including full details of the seminar programme and visitor registration, please visit the website www.lacimexpo.com.

About LACIME 2004

Launched in São Paulo on September 1, 2003, the First Latin American & Caribbean Incentive & Meetings Exhibition, LACIME 2004, will be visited by some 3,000 people from Europe and the Americas. The show organisers are Reed Exhibitions Brazil, a member company of Reed Elsevier, a multinational conglomerate with annual global revenues averaging 6.4 billion euros, and ABAV Nacional, the Brazilian Association of Travel Agents, representing 80% of the Brazilian market. With the support of Embratur and the Ministry of Tourism, LACIME 2004 brings to Brazil the Hosted Buyer Programme, a success in Asia (AIME) and Europe (EIBTM). The Hosted Buyer Programme enables exhibitors to pre-schedule appointments with buyers interested in their products and services. To register, please go to www.lacimexpo.com.br

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