The event is taking place between March 29 and 31 alongside the 45^th Braztoa business meeting at the Expo Centre Norte in Sao Paulo.

Around 8,000 people are set to attend with business deals and contracts expected to exceed the $363 million recorded last year.

The organisers are attributing the improvement to a number of new initiatives introduced over the last four years of the event, including the Business Tourism area, which was added to the exhibition floor last year.

The likes of the El Salvador Tourism Board, the Culture and Tourism Ministry of Bolivia, the Israel Government Tourist Office, Visit Orlando, Visit Florida and Visit California will all be exhibiting for the first time.

Lawrence Reinisch exhibition director for WTM Latin America said: "We are very pleased to see this huge increase of visitor and buyer interest already.

“We are certain that the fair this year will bring even more opportunities for participants to source new products, learn more about the industry and close even more business deals, which is the main focus for many delegates that attend.”