WTM Latin America closes 2025 edition with growth and confirms dates for 2026

By 2:00 p.m. on the third day, 29,979 participants had been counted, 8.04% more than the 27,749 in 2024. “On the first and second days alone, we recorded 18% and 7% more visitors, respectively, compared to last year,” celebrated Event Leader Bianca Pizzolito, noting that the results of the third day are still pending. The final number of visitors who passed through Expo Center Norte until the pavilion closed will be released soon.

Another important achievement was the significant growth in the number of scheduled meetings.

The ConnectMe WTM Lat Meet platform registered 7,369 appointments in the first two days of the event alone, a number that exceeds by 440 the total for the three days of 2024, when 6,929 business meetings were confirmed. “This means that people are using more of the technology we offer to support business and planning their visits better with a focus on updates, networking and closing deals,” says Bianca.

The 837 exhibiting brands represent a 5% increase in this regard compared to the previous edition, with 58 of them (23%) representing 23% of the total number of stands making their debut in the pavilion this year. The exhibition area totaled 8,027 square meters in the two pavilions, a 10% increase in the area sold compared to the 2024 edition. This year's layout had three new areas that made it easier for visitors to navigate:

Mobility, Travel Providers and Experience Zone. “The experience area is a response to a global trend in events to bring people together through sensations,” he said.

Held for the second year, the Diversity Route gained new categories – Community-Based Tourism and Accessible Tourism – which were added to the three axes that guided the 2024 edition (Afrotourism, LGBTQIA+ Tourism and Tourism 60+), highlighting innovative products and services that encourage inclusion and diversity. Bianca also highlighted the record number of entries for the Responsible Tourism Award, which this year received 164 projects from 14 Latin American countries.

The three themed theaters brought together 78 lectures, panels and training sessions, a number that exceeds the 54 training sessions held in 2024. The spaces also hosted the popular Speed ​​Networking sessions with content creators and invited buyers, with emphasis on the exclusive session of the WTM Latin America Hosted Buyers Program Powered by Embratur, a business round that debuted this year with support from Sebrae.

“This edition was very successful in everything it set out to do”, summarizes Bianca. 

Trainings 

In addition to the busy corridors, the third day of the event continued with training sessions. Among the highlights of the program, the panel on indigenous tourism brought together Frank Antoine, president of the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance (Winta), Gladys Concepcion Colli Ek, founder of Aldea Maya Xa'anil Naj (Mexico) and Pablo Calfuqueo
Lefío, general manager of Lofpulli Turismo (Chile). Moderated by Thalita Tomazatti, executive manager of Garupa, an NGO dedicated to strengthening responsible tourism in Brazil, the panelists discussed strategies to strengthen tourism in indigenous territories in an authentic way. “Our culture is not for sale, but we see tourism as an opportunity for sharing and education,” stated Frank Antoine.

Coming from different parts of the world, the representatives were unanimous in reinforcing the need to place communities at the center of planning and decision-making to ensure the success of initiatives, both for tourists and indigenous people. “We don’t put on shows. What we offer are experiences with the goal of
sharing our culture and keeping it alive,” summarized Gladys. “Travelers must understand that not everything will be shared, since there are cultural themes and territories that are sacred and preserved only for the communities,” added Pablo.

In another panel, professionals argued that promoting tourism through the preservation of memory and cultural identity is a powerful path to sustainable development and community strengthening. Isabella Santos, from Sampa Negra, highlighted the importance of carrying collective stories and memories in spaces of cultural expression, valuing those who came before. This appreciation also translates into concrete action, as in the case of Cartagena. Lina Rojas Trillos, executive president of the Tourism Corporation of the Colombian destination, reports that to combat the negative impacts of tourism, it was necessary to recognize the problems and act together with NGOs and authorities to restore areas, transforming them into safe cultural spaces.

Initiatives such as that of the Santa Cruz Institute, led by Patrícia Oliveira, show that community tourism can be the key to lifting populations out of vulnerability, offering new opportunities by valuing local traditions, such as trails and regional breakfasts. Adelaida Ramirez, from the Guatemalan cooperative Nuevo Horizonte, recalls that, even in the face of devastation, rebuilding hope and belonging was possible thanks to collective work, reaffirming that cultural identity is also a pillar of resistance and social transformation.

Two panels addressed topics related to accessibility. The conclusion was that promoting truly inclusive tourism requires the union of empathy, technology and concrete accessibility actions. Jéssica Paula, founder of Passaporte Acessível, highlights the importance of attitudinal accessibility, which goes beyond physical structures and involves a welcoming and conscious attitude, especially when combined with technological resources. Initiatives such as the DonaTapa project in Costa Rica show how sustainability can go hand in hand with inclusion, by transforming plastic waste into accessible structures on beaches. For tourism expert Mel, who is visually impaired, traveling is a profound sensory and cultural experience — she collects miniatures of monuments
so she can touch them and feel their shape, reinforcing that tourism goes far beyond the visual.

Daniela Frontera, a speaker on low vision, founder and creator of the Enxergando o Futuro Project, emphasizes that adaptation is an act of courage in the face of reality and that, although there are still few, projects aimed at people with disabilities have generated significant impacts, as in the case of the 650 families already reached. She highlights the importance of apps like Lazarillo, Be My Eyes and Seeing AI, which guide and offer autonomy during trips, in addition to choosing empathetic travel agencies prepared to welcome this audience. Brazil still faces challenges, with the lack of accessibility being a reason why many tourists avoid visiting the country — but
cities like Socorro, in São Paulo, emerge as examples that more accessible tourism is possible and necessary.

Restructuring tourism means rethinking not only destinations, but also the way we relate to them. In the panel “Reshaping the tourism economy in Latin America: Can the region break free from old travel patterns?”, Aleix Rodriguez Brunsoms, from Skift, emphasizes that tourism is directly linked to economic health, and that the growth of the sector must be guided by responsibility. Franz Muller, from Amadeus, reinforces that tourism is more than an economic sector — it is a social and cultural phenomenon that requires strategies such as market diversification and the strengthening of intraregional tourism. This regional movement, especially among neighboring countries in Latin America, is gaining strength as a sustainable and resilient alternative.

Carolina Stolf, from Embratur, highlights the importance of creating a new narrative for Brazil abroad, valuing its diversity and expanding the range of destinations beyond stereotypes. Stephanie Sheehy adds that tourism needs to be humanized — made by and for people. In a world that is constantly changing, the future of tourism depends on a balance between growth and purpose: more than numbers, it needs to make sense. “We have to humanize tourism, because it was created with and for people,” said Stephanie Sheehy, CEO of Il Viaggio Travel.

The 2026 edition of WTM Latin America is confirmed to take place between April 14 and 16 at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo.

Found: WTM Latin America.