BTC Virtual Interactiva 2020 Made a Difference

Caribbean News Digital Newsroom

The twenty-fourth edition of the Caribbean Tourism Exchange (BTC) opened on November 19, under the name "BTC Virtual Interactiva 2020", in the Convention Center of the Dominican Fiesta hotel in Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, where more than 200 international and local tour operators, travel agents and service providers participated for two days.

The BTC Virtual Interactiva 2020 opened on Thursday during an on-site event presided over by Luis Felipe Aquino, president of the BTC, along with authorities from the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism, the main sponsor of the event.

Due to the restrictions generated by the Covid 19 pandemic and the strict protocols required by the new normality, the 2020 edition of the fair is a platform that, in the opinion of its organizers, has been "reinvented with the incorporation of new technologies and thus become a digital showcase that projects the attractions of international, national and regional tourism, allowing the exhibition, interaction and marketing of tourism products and services.

"Once again I am pleased to open a new edition of the BTC, this time with an innovative format that is totally virtual, as the circumstances demand, but with the interest of contributing to the recovery of Dominican tourism, so hard hit by the Covid19 pandemic, by supporting the strategies and guidelines of the Ministry of Tourism," said Mr. Luis Felipe Aquino as he left the fair open.

The event will include a Business Roundtable, Vacation Market with the slogan "Live your country. Dominican Heartbeat", with the objective of making known and enjoying the benefits that the Dominican Republic offers.

Likewise, the trade show or exhibition hall, a cultural show, conferences, gastronomic exhibits, as well as options linked to religious tourism and accessible tourism, will be available to virtual assistants in colorful virtual pavilions organized by theme.

At the onset, the BTC was established as an event to be held in the city of Santo Domingo, with the purpose of making known and positioning the Dominican capital as a whole with the beach and nature offers that the country has traditionally made available. In that first edition, Bolivia played a prominent role with the assistance of more than 50 travel agencies. Ecuador and Peru also participated in an outstanding way.

Twenty-three editions later, BTC is a solid event that, this year, ventures to make this edition in a virtual way. In his recent appearance on Caribbean News Digital's CNDEscucha program, Mr. Luis Felipe Aquino made clear the challenge facing this edition of BTC in these times.

"We decided, and it was a daring decision, to hold a virtual interactive tourism fair. We spent almost six months preparing for it and overcame the primary part, which was to achieve synchronization of access for all the people who want to join the fair," explained Mr. Aquino.