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Barquin |
Jose M. Barquin, deputy director of the Los Angeles office of the Mexico Tourism Board, is an expert on Mexico’s meetings and conventions market. He shared his insights on the current state of business, and what trends we can expect to see in the months to come.
What is the current state of Mexico’s meetings and conventions market?
The international market has been slow, although the domestic market is doing pretty good. The H1N1 swine flu scare last summer caused some groups to change their dates and reschedule in late 2009 or 2010, although we saw very few cancellations. There was a lot of openness from hoteliers and convention centers in the waiving of fees, which helped the situation.
In the midst of this economic recession, what are some issues that travel agents should be aware of?
The perception of holding a meeting for spoiled executives centered around frivolous activities is very badly perceived. To counter this perception, we’re promoting corporate social responsibility. It’s a huge trend right now. Meetings groups work with local charity organizations to contribute to the community, such as the Mayan community in Riviera Maya or the Chamula Indians in Chiapas. Meetings attendees can also combine business with visits to museums and archaeological sites. Another aspect is the greening side of meetings. They can choose to use recycled or locally produced materials in their exhibition areas. Additional green practices could be as simple as not using bottled water. Instead each participant receives a bottle they refill and use over and over again, getting water.
How important is the U.S. to Mexico’s meetings market?
In 2007, approximately 340,000 [6 percent of Americans that traveled to Mexico by air] visited Mexico to attend a corporate or association meeting or convention. Of course we’d like to see this grow and we’re working hard to not only increase visitors, but to increase revenue. The meetings traveler spends more on average than the leisure traveler. They tend to stay in better hotels, frequent the best restaurants and shop more.
What are the most popular Mexico destinations for meetings?
The top areas for meetings in Mexico are Cancun, Los Cabos, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Maya, Monterrey, Acapulco and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo.
All of those areas are very familiar leisure destinations. What about Monterrey?
Monterrey is the largest industrial hub in Mexico. It’s the center of such industries as steel, cement, textiles and breweries and is a major corporate destination. Monterrey also recently inaugurated its own version of San Antonio’s River Walk, called Paseo Santa Lucia.
www.visitmexico.com
