Featuring new attractions such as the Sports Tourism Forum, the 2026 Latin American International Tourism Fair (FIT) kicked off this Saturday in Buenos Aires, celebrating its 30th anniversary at its traditional home, the La Rural exhibition center.
Other novel additions to this year's lineup include a fashion show and a dedicated Food Fest, while the Dominican Republic—featured as the Guest Country of Honor—has mounted an extensive showcase highlighting its destinations, cultural heritage, and tourism portfolio.
The event will be open to the general public over the weekend, while the final two days leading up to its closing on Tuesday, the 29th, are reserved exclusively for travel trade professionals to network and conduct business.
This marks the start of four dynamic days across the expansive halls of La Rural, where the fair was first launched in 1996 to promote tourism in Argentina and neighboring countries—a mission that has significantly broadened in scope over three decades.
Today, FIT Buenos Aires stands as the largest travel trade fair in Latin America and one of the most prominent worldwide. For this milestone 30th anniversary edition, organizers have staged their most ambitious event to date, bringing together more than 350 exhibitors representing 59 nations, alongside Argentina's provincial delegations.
The exhibition covers 38,725 square meters of floor space and is projected to draw 43,105 industry professionals, alongside 141,296 accredited visitors, with approximately 2,660 scheduled business meetings.
Organizers emphasized that FIT remains an essential platform for destination marketing, stakeholder engagement, and deal-making, driving both the growth and positioning of regional tourism.
Cuba is among the few nations to have maintained an unbroken presence at FIT Buenos Aires throughout its 30-year history. For this edition, the island is showcasing a diversified portfolio aimed at looking beyond its traditional "sun and sand" offerings.
José Antonio Aguilera, Cuba’s Tourism Counselor for the Southern Cone, brings a portfolio spanning premium cigars, the legacy of Juan Manuel Fangio, live music, cultural heritage, golf, diversity tourism, destination weddings, and the MICE sector (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions).
"We focused on what Cuba can offer that a traveler simply cannot find anywhere else in the Caribbean to bring to this edition of FIT," the Cuban official told Prensa Latina.
The fair will also coincide with World Tourism Day on Sunday, September 27—an initiative established by the United Nations to promote and support the sector globally.
The gathering takes place against a backdrop of limited preview coverage from Argentina's mainstream press—which has remained centered on domestic affairs—as well as an ongoing deficit in the country's tourism balance.
Argentina’s tourism ledger closed in the red again in August, though it showed marked improvement compared to the prior year.
According to the latest report from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), 652,100 Argentine residents traveled abroad during the month, compared to 432,900 incoming foreign tourists, resulting in a net negative balance of 219,200 travelers.
Despite remaining in deficit territory, the gap narrowed considerably from August 2025, when the deficit reached 400,900 visitors. INDEC attributed the year-over-year improvement to a 18.3% drop in outbound travel by Argentine residents, paired with an 8.9% increase in inbound foreign arrivals compared to the same month last year.
(Taken from Prensa Latina)
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