ABOUT THE FAIR
A small festival among friends, the 2007 Rural Tourism Fair
was the seventh annual tourism fair created by Planeta.com and
friends in Oaxaca
City. The event took place Saturday, January 27 at Instituto
Amigos del Sol.
The fair highlights rural
tourism and brings together inspired travelers, local travel
providers, community leaders, media, academics and students
for a few magical hours. The annual event provides opportunities
for dialogue among travelers and locals about ways to explore
the rural countryside.
Visitors had direct access to more than 20 exhibitors,
including local tour operators, community representatives and
artisans who shared information about specific tours and community
visits.
PRESENTATIONS
Paper Recycling - A hands-on workshop for
kids of all ages (Blackbox)
Tamazulapan - Learn how rural tourism in the
Mixteca is being developed (Tamazulapan)
Water Conservation - Lessons on building dry
toilets in rural communities and conserving water in city hotels
(Marlene Ehrenberg and Ron Sawyer)
Walk with the weavers - Teotitlán's
community museum invites you to join weaver-led tours (Teotitlan
weavers)
Mezcaltourism - Visit agave fields and and
mezcal factories (Graciela de Real Minero)
VIP GUESTS
VIP guests included Colibri Award winners Marlene Ehrenberg
and Fernando Garcia Aguinaco and AMTAVE President Wendy Hesketh.
More notable visitors: May Shehab and Mina Girgis, David Agren,
Lucero Topete, Luz Ojeda Chávez, Katrina Ruiz Geda, Gustavo
Fricke, Katie Pope, Alberto Toriz Roldán, David Sutherland,
Ulises Ortega Toledo and Norma Vargas González.
VISTORS
The Rural Tourism Fair welcomes local, national and foreign
visitors. Admission is free. We asked participants to fill out
a survey and help themselves to delicious tamales!
For visitors attending from out of town, Oaxaca has many fine
places
to stay. Hotels near the fair include Casa de la Tia Tere,
Casa de los Sabores, Las Bugambilias, La Reja and Las Mariposas.
A little further away are Casa
Arnel and Casa
Crespo which are big supporters of the fair.
Oaxacan cuisine is world famous. Many of Oaxaca City restaurants
showcase the best of regional favorites. Check out our directory
of where
to eat.
EXHIBITORS
Those who wish to exhibit rural tourism services were asked
to fill out an application.
Registered for the event were Academic Tours, Arte y Tradición
Efigenia Nabor, Bicicletas Pedro Martinez, Blackbox, Carlos
Rivera, Casa de la montaña, Centro de Arte Textil Zapoteco,
Expediciones Sierra Norte, GTC Tours, Enrique Matadamas Hernández,
Angela Mendoza, Museo Comunitario de Teotitlán del Valle,
Olla Solar, Rancho Buenavista, Rebozo Tours, Restaurante Caldo
de Piedra, Restaurante Donaji, Sarar Transformación,
Tradex, Traditions Mexico, Viajes Pantanos de Centla and Natividad
Estela Zárate López, Zonabici.
A directory of participants was distributed at the event.
OUTCOMES
One of the objectives of the fair was to collect new information
to revise features on this website. Look for updated features
on Planeta.com, including revised directories of artisans in
craft towns.
A week after the fair Ron Mader reviewed the fair in Lessons
from Mexico, a presentation at the 2007 Business Development
Symposium in Sydney,
Australia.
KUDOS
In town special kudos and warm thanks to Amate Books for funding
the posters that announced the event. Also to Casa Arnel for
providing lodging for our out-of-town speakers and to Casa Crespo
for hosting a press conference.
Warm thanks go to ASESEO, Despacharte, El Arte Oaxaqueño,
Las Mariposas, Corazon del Pueblo, Kiosko, La Reja, Oaxaca Lending
Library, Nuevo Mundo and others.
Elsewhere on the Web, thanks to Amtave,
Go
Oaxaca, Banderas
News, Transitions
Abroad, TravelMole,
Development
Gateway, Oaxaca
Streets Shops, Pacific
Coast of Mexico, ECOCLUB,
Si
Mexico, North
American Mountain Forum, Olor
a mi Tierra, En
Amor Arte de Oaxaca, IMAC,
The Herald, green-travel,
Tamazulapan.org
and TravelMole
(again!).
VOLUNTEERS
Among our friends who helped out as official greeters were
Geraldine Pochon and Ilan Helman from Hostel Pochon, Florencio
Moreno from Academic Tours, Fernando Garcia Aguinaco, Valentina,
Stan Gotlieb and Diana Ricci, Glen and Flora Strachen.
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