On Wednesday, the 48th edition of Latin America’s largest tourism fair will open in Acapulco, six months after Hurricane Otis devastated the coastal city. 

The Tianguis Turístico, which gathers businesses from across the tourism industry, will take place at the Expo Mundo Imperial convention center from April 10 to 12. 

The fair promotes and markets various tourist products and services from around the country — including sunny beach destinations, culture, luxury, business and adventure — to national and international participants.

According to Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco Marqués, despite not being at full capacity due to damage caused by Hurricane Otis, Acapulco currently has 46.3% of its 21,000 hotel rooms available.

During an event on Sunday at Expo Mundo Imperial, Minister Torruco revealed that the original goal was to provide 5,000 hotel rooms for the fair. However, the demand by the fair’s participants exceeded expectations, so more rooms were made available to accommodate them.

“When the private sector unites with the local population and the three levels of government, there is no obstacle for Mexicans,” Torruco said. “Many said that it was impossible to rebuild Acapulco in five months. I, myself, said that we were only going to have 5,000 rooms ready, but today we have more,” he added.

According to the Tianguis Turístico’s website, as of April 2, the fair had confirmed the attendance of 43 countries including Mexico, 1,337 buyers from 787 companies and 1,441 exhibitors from 852 companies.

Torruco Marqués stated that the newly revived state-run airline Mexicana de Aviación will participate in the event for the first time as one of its sponsors. The other airlines sponsoring the event include Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobús. 

The fair’s origin dates to 1975, when former Mexican president Miguel Alemán Valdés, who at the time was president of the National Tourism Council (CNT), managed it under the name of the International Fair of Hotels and Tourist Agencies of Acapulco (HATA), to market Acapulco as an international destination.  

In 1976, the event changed its name to the one it bears today: Tianguis Turístico. 

Since 2011, the event has taken place in different destinations besides its original host city. The 2023 and 2021 editions were held in Mexico City, while the 2018 edition took place in Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

With reports from El Financiero and El Economista