Miguel Torruco Marqués and the Governor of Veracruz, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, led the inauguration of the sixth edition of the National Tianguis of Magical Towns 2024, which will take place at the World Trade Center Veracruz, in Boca del Río, from September 10 to 12.
Accompanied by the elected governor of the state, Rocío Nahle García; the Secretary of Tourism of Veracruz, Ivan Martínez Olvera; the mayor of Boca del Rio, Juan Manuel Unanue Abascal; as well as state Secretaries of Tourism, authorities, presidents of chambers and associations of the sector and businessmen, the head of the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur) highlighted the potential of the Magical Towns brand as an important development engine that has been consolidated and allows Mexico to be brought to all corners of the country and internationally.
“Today, the sixth edition of the National Tianguis of Magical Towns has the state of Veracruz as host, especially this beautiful municipality of Boca del Río, a prosperous entity with a great tourist infrastructure, and one of the favorite destinations for internal or domestic tourism,” he said.
He indicated that, in the facilities of the important convention center that will host this great event and that is once again inclusive, visitors will be able to visit the various stands of the Magical Towns and Neighborhoods, as well as tour other interesting areas, including crafts, gastronomy, traditional medicine and inclusive tourism.
He noted that academic sessions will also be available, in which seminars, keynote lectures, and an international colloquium called: Innovating to Enjoy Tourism will be held.
He praised that, in a coordinated effort with the chambers and tourism associations, the 2024 National Tianguis of Magical Towns will have a pavilion where business meetings between tour operators and travel agents will be held, with the purpose of offering tourist packages to the Magical Towns, and most importantly, business meetings, which total more than 4,300 already scheduled.
The head of Sectur highlighted that 23 years ago, a new and interesting program called “Magical Towns” was born, with the purpose of creating a complementary and diversified tourist offer in the interior of the country; which would allow us to show the charm, uniqueness and mysticism of many of our towns, which hold within them a great cultural, natural and gastronomic wealth, capable of seducing our visitors.
He recalled that during the current administration other promotional mechanisms have also been implemented, such as the three editions of the International Tianguis of Magical Towns in: Barcelona, Spain; Los Angeles, California, and San Antonio, Texas, in the United States;
The above, together with the six editions of the Tianguis Nacional de Pueblos Mágicos, including this one, have managed to effectively disseminate the vast tourist heritage of these enigmatic localities and the Magical Neighborhoods.
He said that, in order to promote and disseminate these unique tourist spots, the Secretariat in his charge created the Tianguis de Pueblos Mágicos in 2019, with the state of Hidalgo as host, with Huasca de Ocampo being the first with this denomination at the national level; for this reason, the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, instructed that this federal entity be its permanent biennial headquarters.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, the second edition was held digitally, with the state of San Luis Potosí as the organizer; in 2021, the third edition was held in a hybrid format, that is, digital and in person, with the sponsorship of the government of Hidalgo; in 2022, the fourth edition took place in Oaxaca, and in 2023, the venue returned to Hidalgo for the celebration of the fifth edition.
Torruco Marqués mentioned that, throughout six years of the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, it became clear that it was possible to work for the benefit of the population, improving their quality of life and leaving behind the obsession with macroeconomic indicators, which do not reflect the reality of the people.
He pointed out that the tourism potential of a nation, as well as the benefits to the local population, are not measured by the arrival of international tourists, but by the income received.
“Following the instructions of the President of Mexico to make tourism a tool for social reconciliation, the Secretariat under my charge has focused its efforts on the practice of a tourist activity with a more human and social dimension,” he concluded.
At the time, the governor of the state, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, listed some of the tourist attractions of Veracruz in its Magical Towns, such as the emblematic Voladores de Papantla, the colonial structures in Coscomatepec, the estancias at the foot of the mountains in Orizaba, the mystical capital neighborhood of Xallitic, among others.
“Magic has finally arrived in these corners of Jarocho. Today we are pleased to also greet the representatives from Bolivia, Cuba, Colombia, Spain, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Welcome everyone to this colorful festival of our cultures, on display at the Tianguis Nacional de Pueblos y Barrios Mágicos from all over Mexico. Thank you very much,” he said.
For his part, Ivan Francisco Martínez Olvera, Secretary of Tourism of Veracruz and technical secretary of the Association of Secretaries of Tourism of Mexico (Asetur), stated that, from September 10 to 12, Veracruz becomes the epicenter of tourism, and added that at the World Trade Center Veracruz, "we will all be showing off the essence of Mexico, the beauty and grandeur of each of the states, and of course all of us with the pride of being Mexican."
He invited attendees to enjoy the areas and pavilions, the traditional cuisine area and the artisans area, the business area and the digital platform that will facilitate the arrangement of more than 11 thousand business meetings, the five simultaneous artistic and academic forums and all the interaction between almost 4 thousand tourism professionals in Mexico and invited countries.
In turn, Octavio de la Torre de Stéffano, president of Concanaco Servytur, highlighted the hospitality of Boca del Río, being this a place that combines modernity and tradition thanks to this exceptional infrastructure, which in turn provides a perfect space to highlight the cultural, gastronomic and tourist wealth of our 177 Magical Towns and 34 Magical Neighborhoods that are part of that mosaic of flavors and colors that allows us to know in one place the artisanal gastronomic, cultural offer and its tourist attractions.
He added that the 4.8 million companies and businesses represented by Concanaco Servytur feel deeply committed to promoting this Magical Towns event, which is a fundamental economic engine for the country with unique, symbolic attributes, authentic stories and significant events that represent an opportunity for tourism.
Authorities and representatives of the business sector carried out the ribbon cutting that formally marked the start of the activities of the 2024 National Tianguis of Magical Towns, in Boca del Río, Veracruz, the last one corresponding to the current federal administration.
The ribbon cutting ceremony also took place at the inclusion pavilion and that of the host state, Veracruz.
The inauguration of the sixth edition of the National Tianguis of Magical Towns was also attended by Juan Enrique Suárez del Real Tostado, president of the Union of Tourism Secretaries (Asetur) and Secretary of Tourism of Nayarit; as well as the Secretaries of Tourism Gloria Romo from Aguascalientes; Maribel Collins Sánchez from Baja California Sur; Mauricio Arceo Piña from Campeche; Katyna de la Vega Grajales from Chiapas; Nelly Carrasco from the State of Mexico; Juan José Álvarez Brunel from Guanajuato; Simón Quiñones Orozco from Guerrero; Elizabeth Quintanar Gómez from Hidalgo; Roberto Monroy García from Michoacán; Julieta Goldzweig Cornejo from Morelos; Saymi Pineda Velasco from Oaxaca; Roberto Gradillas Pineda from Sonora; Adriana Vega Vázquez Mellado from Querétaro; Yolanda Cepeda Echavarría from San Luis Potosí; Ricardo Velarde Cardenas from Sinaloa; Jose Antonio Isidro de Jesus Nieves Rodriguez from Tabasco; Benjamin Hernandez Rodriguez from Tamaulipas; Fabricio Mena Rodriguez from Tlaxcala and Le Roy Barragan Ocampo from Zacatecas; and Jose de Jesus Quiñonez, Undersecretary of Tourism of Baja California.
Also present were Carmen Gutiérrez Flores, a potter and winner of the National Award for Traditional Ceramics; Nicolás Xochihua González, a multi-award-winning artisan; among other authorities from the three levels of government, chambers and associations, media outlets and tourism service providers.
Source: SECTUR.