Eighteen States Make Bid for Tianguis, Guerrero Included

(Mexico City, AN 16 May) The deadline has passed for bidding on the 2012 edition of the Tianguis Turístico, which the federal government has commandeered from Acapulco after 36 years of continuous presence in the port city. Guerrero is one of the 18 states submitting a bid. The award will be announced on June 15. The selection committee is made up of employees of the Federal Tourism Department, headed by Gloria Guevara or separate organizations dependent upon Sectur, like the Tourism Promotion Council of Mexico and the National Fund for Tourism Promotion. There is symbolic representation from some private sector groups, like the Chamber of Commerce. The more economically powerful of the buyers from last year’s event are expected to have some influence in the decision as well.

The idea of making the Tianguis, or annual Tourism Fair, an itinerant event was conceived by Gloria Guevara last January. Most tourism professionals point to the difficulty in making annual fairs itinerant when seeking international participation. All the prestigious events in the world are fixed in their locations, as was Acapulco’s for 36 years. Critics warn that the decision is ill-conceived, and will just move Mexico a few more notches down in the international prestige ladder for tourism professionals.