WFTGA Area Representative Sergio Buitrago at FIEXPO Latin America
Sergio Buitrago attended FIEXPO Latin America 2026 as a Hosted Buyer representing the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) in his capacity as Area Representative for Central and South America. The Hosted Buyer format gave him direct, structured access to the region’s most relevant tourism decision-makers — Convention Bureaus, Convention Centers, Destination Marketing Organizations, Ministries of Tourism, Professional Congress Organizers, and industry associations — all in a single venue over three days.
His primary objective was to connect with the key actors of the regional tourism and meetings sector on behalf of WFTGA, to identify potential institutional partners and sponsors for the WFTGA World Convention to be held in Cusco, Peru, March 6–10, 2028, and to position certified tourist guides as strategic assets within the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) ecosystem.
He participated in several sessions, with the key actors of the MICE sector. He also held individual meetings with stakeholders from multiple countries across the region, mapping key contacts country by country and establishing the groundwork for ongoing institutional relationships.
The Strategic Weight of Meetings Tourism
The meetings industry carries economic significance that far exceeds conventional tourism. Delegates attending congresses and conventions spend 5 to 6 times more than standard leisure tourists, with an average stay of 5 days. Beyond direct spending, MICE events serve as economic multipliers — stimulating local commerce, spreading visitor flow across the calendar year, and consistently attracting high-value travelers such as academics, researchers, and senior professionals.
This context reframes the role of the tourist guide entirely. In a MICE destination, a certified guide is not an add-on service — they are a professional interface between the event and the city, a cultural bridge that shapes the delegate’s experience and influences a destination’s competitiveness.
The Value Proposition Challenge
The Associations Forum delivered a particularly relevant lesson: most organizations — across all sectors — are operating with outdated value propositions. The world changes faster than institutions adapt, and what was compelling five years ago may no longer resonate today. The forum challenged attendees to regularly audit how they communicate their purpose and relevance, and to deliberately reframe their offering for the current environment.
This applies directly to WFTGA and to tourist guide associations broadly. Our value to destinations, to the MICE industry, and to travelers is real — but it must be expressed in language and formats that speak to today’s decision-makers.
Understanding ICCA’s Role
Sergio said he gained a much clearer understanding of ICCA — the International Congress and Convention Association — and its relevance to our work. ICCA is the world’s leading community for the associative and academic events sector, with over 1,100 member organizations representing 40,000 professionals across more than 100 countries. Since 1963, it has been the only global body that systematically measures the volume, economic impact, and destination performance of international associative events.
Its membership covers the full spectrum of the meetings industry: DMOs, Convention Bureaus, venues, PCOs, and specialized suppliers. Understanding this ecosystem — how it is structured, who the players are, and how decisions are made — is essential for WFTGA to position itself credibly within it.
Something Special Worth Sharing
What struck Sergio most about FIEXPO was not any single session or meeting — it was the realization of how interconnected and organized the meetings industry already is, and how much WFTGA has to gain by inserting itself deliberately into this ecosystem.
Tourist guides are almost invisible in this world. Convention planners, DMOs, and event organizers make decisions about destinations, venues, and experiences — and certified guides rarely appear in those conversations. FIEXPO made that gap visible and, more importantly, showed exactly where the entry points are.
There is a genuine opportunity for WFTGA to be recognized not simply as a professional certification body, but as an active contributor to destination competitiveness in the meetings market. The professionals in that room understand value — and the value of a knowledgeable, certified guide to a congress delegate exploring an unfamiliar city is something they can be made to see, once we speak their language.
That, for him, was the most valuable takeaway: not just what he learned about the industry, but a clearer sense of where our profession belongs within it and what it will take to claim that place.
Thank you for attending, Sergio, and for being such a great ambassador for WFTGA!