HOUSTON, Texas -- This dynamic city, 4th largest in the nation, hosted La Cumbre, the international travel trade conference, last week and got high marks from everyone attending for the professional manner in which it was handled.

Following the disastrous assault by Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and the Gulf states of Alabama and Mississippi, La Cumbre was held in Houston just as it was coping with the more than 150,000 evacuees from New Orleans, only 319 miles away.

As a result the Houston Convention Center was taken over to accommodate the evacuees. It had been slated as the venue for La Cumbre but following the influx of the evacuees the event was moved to Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros. In spite of these last minute changes La Cumbre turned out to be a great success.

“La Cumbre attracted more than 1,200 delegates from throughout the U.S. as well as the hemisphere and 31% of them had never attended the event before,” said Rick Still, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions Latin America, which coordinates the annual event. “This means entirely new opportunities to expand and do business for 600 suppliers and 300 buyers among the delegates.”

The Houston Cumbre attracted delegates from more than two dozen countries in the hemisphere. Previous editions of La Cumbre were dominated by U.S. destinations interested in attracting more visitors from Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Houston veteran attendees noticed an interesting phenomenon in that a number of foreign destinations utilized La Cumbre to promote their attractions in the U.S. market. They included Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and Trinidad & Tobago, among others.

Houston is the world headquarters of Continental Airlines and its dominant role was evident everywhere although some other airlines participated including American, Delta, Mexicana and United, among others.

The splendid cooperation between government and the private sector which Houston and the state of Texas mounted won praise from all of the delegates. It was a joint effort by the state and local governments. La Cumbre had been held in Houston ten years earlier and the vast changes impressed many of the delegates.

Houston transformed and booming

“Houston is a city transformed and booming,” said Stills. “Their dedication, as well as that of every travel professional attending, demonstrates the importance of living with change. It teaches us to recognize the one constant in our evolving industry and our ever changing world.”

World travel set an all time record in 2004 with 763 million international arrivals. “This remarkable increase of more than 10% from the previous year and the average growth of 8% in the first quarter of 2005, seem to indicate that despite that despite lingering security concerns, tightened restrictions, and the threat of natural disasters, there is little that can stand in the way of people’s natural desire to travel,” said Ellie Perla, the Miami-based publicist coordinating the event.

But Americans are proving to be particularly obstinate, indicated Perla, pointing out that of the 46 million international visitors to the U.S., a record-breaking 11.9 million came from Mexico and they spent an unprecedented $8 billion. Visitors from South America grew 8%. Travelers from Central America grew 14% and those from the Caribbean 16%.

Next year’s Cumbre will be hosted by Las Vegas.

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