COCAL 2025: Cuba shares efforts to strengthen the MICE industry in Latin America

A Cuban tourism delegation is participating, until July 25, in the 41st edition of the Congress of the Confederation of Congress and Related Organizing Entities of Latin America (COCAL), which opened today in San Pedro Sula, a beautiful city known as the industrial capital of Honduras.

The Caribbean island’s Ministry of Tourism published on its official social media accounts that the event is the epicenter of ideas and collaboration to strengthen the MICE industry in the South American region. It added that these congresses promote the future of events with a strategic focus and shared vision.

During the opening ceremony, Honduran Deputy Minister of Tourism Reizel Vilorio stated that another objective of this international gathering is to establish connections between countries, seek out foreign events, and take each country’s events to an international level, always prioritizing the knowledge and skills that can be acquired.

To achieve its goals, COCAL 2025 brings together more than 300 professionals from 19 countries, representing the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector. Participants from the Caribbean island include specialists from the PALCO Business Group, with a recognized track record in event organization, along with sales representatives from Havanatur, Cubanacan and Paradisus, among other entities in the sector.

The program includes keynote addresses, specialized workshops, and strategic networking opportunities to strengthen local capacities, foster new alliances, and share the global trends that are shaping the direction of business tourism, according to local press reports.

The event will feature academic sessions, trade fairs, and technical visits that will allow attendees to experience firsthand San Pedro Sula’s capacity to host international events. The city has invested in strengthening its hotel infrastructure, improving its air connectivity, and training its local stakeholders, with a view to becoming a strategic hub for the meetings industry in the region.

The 2025 edition of the COCAL Congress not only celebrates more than four decades of integration and professionalization of the sector in Latin America, but also represents a historic opportunity for Honduras, which seeks to present itself to the world as a country with enormous potential in the field of business tourism.