Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – A 50 percent increase in the number of buyers is expected for this year's Tianguis Turistico Mexico, the country’s main tourism fair. It will be held in at the The Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center in March and is being co-hosted by the state of Nayarit.

Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara, and the governors of Jalisco, Emilio Gonzalez, and Nayarit, Roberto Sandoval, announced at a press conference that the preparations for the 37th edition of the fair are virtually complete.

Guevara emphasized that the Tianguis fair, which for 24 years was held in Acapulco, has been designed for the first time to promote the main segments of the country’s tourist industry: cultural, sun and beach, adventure, business, and luxury.

In addition, the fair will include a series of activities that "will make this edition the most successful in history," she said, adding that 30 percent more countries have signed up for 2012.

The secretary also said that a 24 percent increase in the number of registered companies is predicted, along with a 25 percent rise in the number of business appointments.

She added that Jalisco and Nayarit have spent 65 million pesos ($5.1 million USD) to host the event, which will result in an economic overflow to the two states of approximately 118 million pesos ($9.3 million USD.)

Guevara said that the decision to hold the Tianguis at a different site every year strengthens the tourism sector, making the event into a platform for business that promotes all tourist destinations in Mexico. Tourism accounts for 9 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product.

The government of President Felipe Calderon last determined that the fair, at which destinations for international and domestic buyers are promoted, should be "mobile" and not be held exclusively in Acapulco.