Executives from the Air Europa company confirmed to the Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera, in Madrid, that this airline will increase its flights between Montevideo and the Spanish capital from four weekly frequencies to five. The hierarch also highlighted health tourism as an incipient product that was added to the diversified offer presented by Uruguay at the 43rd International Tourism Fair (Fitur).
Viera highlighted, in dialogue with Presidential Communication, the participation of the Uruguayan delegation, made up of 10 public and private operators and headed by the Ministry of Tourism, from January 18 to 22 at Fitur, in Madrid.
He mentioned the presence of the municipalities of Maldonado and Montevideo and the Uruguayan Chamber of Tourism, among other private operators. The novelty was the integration of a private health operator, which reached institutional agreements to develop a new product, the incipient health tourism. This will facilitate the arrival of patients for certain treatments, medical personnel and Spanish university students.
The authorities presented Uruguay, in what is considered one of the main fairs in the sector, as a productive country and reported on its diversified tourist offer, which includes, in addition to the traditional sun and beach product, thermal tourism, in spaces of nature, nautical-fluvial, oenological and historical-cultural.
In this sense, the interviewee pointed out that at the inauguration of the space in Uruguay, the composer and musician Jorge Drexler was appointed as ambassador of the country brand, in recognition of his career.
The country brand is a distinctive emblem that represents Uruguay abroad, particularly in the fields of tourism, foreign trade and investment, with the aim of promoting national interests and the growth of the economy.
On the eve of the opening of the fair, Viera, accompanied by the national director, Roque Baudean, and the Uruguayan ambassador to Spain, Ana Teresa Ayala, presented at the 26th Ibero-American Conference of Tourism Ministers and Entrepreneurs. The hierarch maintained: “Ours is a reliable country, with political and democratic stability, and macroeconomic soundness that generates favorable conditions for investment.”
Within the framework of Fitur, the highest authorities in the sector from the Mercosur countries, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, together with Bolivia and Chile, presented “Visit South America”, a joint tourism promotion brand for the promotion and international positioning of destinations.
In parallel, the bloc’s Ministries of Tourism promote La Ruta Natural del Sur, a regional strategy that promotes nature tourism, with the aim of unifying promotion in third markets. Priority is given to seven territorial corridors in which the countries of the region share jungles, mountains and rivers.
Viera highlighted the recognition of the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, who praised the elaboration of the Tourist Defense Code that is developed in our country.
The minister anticipated that air connectivity with Europe will be strengthened based on the confirmation received from executives of the Air Europa airline, which will soon incorporate a fifth weekly frequency on this route that has been operating since 2013. This is in addition to the seven flights on the week carried out by Iberia, from the beginning of the month and due to high demand.
In addition, during the fair, the chief met with representatives of the Spanish National Organization for the Blind, in order to develop lines of work to promote accessibility in tourism. He also met with regional authorities from the town of Badajoz, in Extremadura, and Andalusia, which opened up training and exchange opportunities in different areas.
