Caracas.- The executive vice president of
Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, informed this Saturday that the South American country signed 557 tourism agreements with more than 15 countries that participated in the International Business Roundtable held this week in Caracas.
"More than 557 agreements have already been signed (...) the progress we have is very important, agreements have also been reached with tour operators from Azerbaijan, we have also reached Cuba-Venezuela agreements with China to create a multi-destination," Rodríguez explained in statements to the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
The official did not offer further details on the agreements reached and with which countries they were signed, but indicated that more than 15 countries participated in the business round table with 196 international guests.
"When we see the growth this engine has had in recent years, we know that it is the path for our Venezuela, to diversify the economy, from an oil-rentier economy to an economy that boosts this sector," he added.
According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Tourism, representatives from Germany, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Curaçao, Iraq, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Uruguay, and Vietnam participated in the business round table, which was held between August 14 and 16.
Last July, a total of 18 operators from Trinidad and Tobago arrived in Venezuela with the purpose of getting to know the tourism sectors of the state of Nueva Esparta (insular), where the islands of Margarita, Cubagua and Coche are located, as reported at the time by the Ministry of Tourism.
The objective, the State portfolio explained in a press release, was for operators to establish "commercial alliances to contact local suppliers and experience the services of the destination and publicize landscapes such as the Laguna de la Restinga National Park, El Agua beach, Santa Rosa Castle".
For his part, Josmar Palacios, from the board of directors of the Rutaca airline, informed on VTV that on Thursdays and Sundays there is an international flight between Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) and Porlamar (Margarita).
On August 6th, the National Institute of Civil Aeronautics of Venezuela (INAC) confirmed that the Brazilian airline Gol resumed its flights to Venezuela, after the company suspended its operations in the Caribbean country in 2016 due to problems repatriating its profits in foreign currency.
Through a post on Instagram, INAC confirmed that Gol activated a route between Caracas and São Paulo that will have four weekly frequencies and will connect passengers from Guarulhos International Airport to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, which serves Caracas.
On May 27th, commercial flights between Panama and Venezuela resumed, although diplomatic relations between both countries remain on hold.