Mexico goes India way
The tourism board aims at 35-40 per cent growth from India, with its prime focus being Mumbai.
ANITA JAIN In
a bid to increase Indian footfalls, Mexico Tourism has started proactive sessions in the country.
To start with, it is in talks with top tour operators and online travel agents (OTAs) to include Mexico in their US travel itineraries. It is also looking at developing unique itineraries for every segment of Indian high-end travellers by taking feedback from these tour operators about Indian travellers’ needs, requirements, behaviors, booking patterns, etc. With no plans to open an office in India or appoint a representation in near future, the tourism board is working closely with Mexico Embassy in New Delhi for providing tourism information, promotional materials and visa information to the travel trade.
Talking about the performance of Indian market, Guillermo Eguiarte, Regional Director – Asia, Mexico Tourism Promotion Board said, “We are promoting Mexico in India for the last six years with a good response from the trade and travellers. Before the recession (2008), we recorded a growth of about 150 per cent from India which was excellent but post that, due to recession and swine flu breakout in 2009, the growth figures dwindled.
We are going to work closely with travel agents through joint marketing activities, building itineraries and also supplying promotional materials
However, we are recovering from that. In 2011-12, we saw a growth of 30 per cent from India and are expecting 35-40 per cent for 2012-13. This is only possible through travel agents and thus we are going to work closely with them through joint marketing activities, assistance in building unique itineraries and also supplying promotional materials.” The prime focus of the country is Mumbai with secondary focus on New Delhi and Bengaluru. It is also considering approaching few production houses next year as first it intends to consolidate in B2B space. “China is a bigger market for us in Asia in terms of numbers, but when it comes to expenditure and duration of stay, Indians lead the race. Indians not only spend more, but also experiment with local food, have no language barrier and explore more destinations in Mexico,” adds Eguiarte.
Tourism is Mexico's third-biggest source of foreign exchange after oil exports and remittances from expatriates, accounting for close to 9 percent of gross domestic product and providing employment to 2.5 million people. Last year, Mexico received 23 million international tourists and the industry generated more than US$11 billion in total revenue.