Representatives from 17 countries gather in Honduras to determine the future of Country Brands in Latin America

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite being one of the youngest country brands in the continent, Honduras was elected unanimously by 17 Latin American countries as the location to define the working agenda of the IV International Country Brand Forum to be held later this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

July 6 through 9, delegates from the participating brands are gathered in the city of Copan Ruinas in western Honduras, to attend the Preliminary Technical Meeting which will serve to prepare for the 2016 IV International Country Brand Forum.

The selection of Honduras as the host of the planning meeting for this important international forum is a recognition of the management and leadership of the Honduras Country Brand, a public-private partnership between the Government of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, through the Office of Communications and Presidential Strategy, along with the National Investment Council, to promote the country across the world.

According to official sources, Honduras was elected to host this important meeting during last year's III International Country Brand Forum held in Lima, Peru, recognizing the capacity that the country brand has demonstrated to host international conferences, after successfully celebrating its first anniversary with major national and international awards.

Participants of last year's forum determined the city of Copan Ruinas would be the ideal place to host the technical meeting, as it is one of the leading tourism destinations in Honduras, where the essence of Mayan culture and traditions, and the regional cuisine of the western region of the country are showcased.

As part of the activities planned for the event, the delegations will tour the Copan Archeological Site, where they will visit the museum, the Rosalila temple, the Bird Park, and also participate in food tastings.

During the second day of the meeting, the delegations will conduct a comparative analysis of the topics addressed in previous forums, to focus the agenda on key issues that have not been widely discussed in previous conferences.

Following this analysis, the country brand representatives will gather in different working groups to discuss the proposed topics, leading to the establishment of the agenda for the IV forum in a plenary session.

Every year an international forum is held in one of the member countries, to provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences, to develop strategies to help address challenges faced by countries in the region.  

The first International Country Brand Forum was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, the second in Santiago, Chile, the third in Lima, Peru, and the fourth is scheduled for the end of the year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where agenda resulting from this technical meeting will be addressed among the representatives of the country brands from Latin America.

For each country, the brand is an important marketing tool, with the main objective of boosting strategic sectors, among them, tourism, exports and investment, as well as the overall country image.

In Honduras the country brand unites the public sector, the private sector, and civil society, and in its first year has helped showcase that the country has first class tourism destinations, high quality products and macroeconomic indicators to attract investment.

Since its inception, the Honduras Country Brand has promoted the country in tourism fairs and expos which add value to the brand, and has also helped spread positive messages on the best Honduras has to offer, including its culture and cuisine.

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SOURCE Honduras Presidency