Last week, Pure Hospitality Solutions – parent company of the Central American-Caribbean online travel agency (OTA) Oveedia – announced its plan to attract special interest travellers with its newly launched numismatic tourism vertical.
Oveedia executives announced the company’s new plan on Oct. 14. It borrows from the evolution of sports tourism, which the company claims is now a “booming, $7.7 billion industry.” In marketing to numismatic enthusiasts who travel specifically to participate in coin and currency events, the company said it hopes to attract the “significantly sized, specialty tourism market” with its offers, adding the operation is “very cost efficient.”
“Last year, ASC International USA organized a five-day numismatic trip to Havana, Cuba, for enthusiasts and other interested travellers to learn about the history of Cuban coins, currency and recovered treasures,” said Melvin Pereira, president and CEO of Pure Hospitality Solutions. “While there are hundreds of shows organized in the United States yearly, the ‘gem’ of all the Americas – being Central America and the Caribbean – as ASC International USA demonstrated, is just now truly becoming a destination of great discovery for the numismatic tourist, also known as Numismatourist, and Latin American tourism as a whole.”
Pereira added whether its sports or coins, the “ultimate goal” is to spur tourism, specifically to the Central American-Caribbean region.
“We don’t care if it’s sports tourism, eco-tourism, or in this case numismatic tourism,” he said. “We chose numismatics because this market affords us an opportunity to develop an additional, positive cash flow business, which has low overhead, strong asset value appreciation and highly sought-after merchandise.”
The company also announced it will begin travelling to numismatic shows events in an effort to promote numismatic tourism as well as sell its inventory of rare Costa Rican and Central American coins and currencies.