Pedro Jesus Fernandez. Chief of the Turespaña Office in Mexico

Q- I’d like you to explain what the main task of the Turespaña Office in Mexico actually is and what groups or associations are under your wing.

A- First of all, there’s a fundamental reason for this office to be stationed in Mexico and that’s the promotion of Spain. Moreover, there’s a major presence of Spanish hotels both in Mexico and in the Central America. So, a considerable chunk of our job here has to do with supporting those companies. The big Spanish hotel chains are found everywhere in Mexico, and there are some of them that despite being funded with Spanish money are hardly heard of in Spain, yet they’re very powerful over here. There are other companies that deal with infrastructure, maintenance and lots of travel consulting firms working for all Mexican states. We throw our support behind of all them and we promote Spanish tourism. That’s what Turespaña’s job is basically all about.

Q- Does your office also back up other organizations?

A- The first thing we did was to ask the association of Spanish tour operators in Mexico –22 in all- to come together as a Mexican association (Espatur). Then we spelled them out the need to forge an agreement with Turespaña. This was a way to organize them and support them in terms of advertisement, management and association outlines. That’s how we do it on a yearly basis during the fair that tours the country with a couple of presentations in Mexico D.F., one in springtime and the other one in the fall.

Q- The office has some specific campaigns for the Mexican market. What blitzes does the Turespaña Office carry out through the year, regardless of the road shows that you plan?

A- We do a number of things. For instance, yesterday afternoon, a major tour operator that promotes the Spanish market met with its top customers at the OET headquarters –this is something they usually do every fifteen days or so. Each and every one of them gets a somewhat peculiar presentation. That is, a sampling of wines, led by a sommelier, is conducted as a specific kind of product is unveiled. There’re very attractive sectors like the gourmet industry. Let me explain this to you. Given the features of the Mexican market, we believe around 80 percent of the readers of a gourmet-oriented publication, when they travel abroad, they’re also willing to travel to Europe and you bet these are disciplined customers who just don’t read an article, but they also take down notes and go to a restaurant. With this idea in mind, we’re also doing gourmet sessions in several restaurants.

Q- What’s the budget the Mexico Tourism Office count on and what investments does it make in this country, quantitatively speaking?

A- We’re running on a very tight budget. To begin with, this is one of the few offices open to the public, and even though this is not the nitty-gritty of our job, we do take advantage of that possibility. Every visitor who walks in asking for a travel brochure, we ask him whether he’s got plans to go to Spain. If the answer is yes, then we mail him a letter inquiring what he did and how long he stayed in the country. We also ask him if the information we gave him about the cities did him any good, whether it was useful enough to make him stay for a longer time and how many days he stayed in all. That’s the kind of action that helps offset our budgetary shortfall. Our funds do not exceed $130,000.

Q- What’s the linkage between Turespaña and the different Spanish airlines flying to Mexico, either charter or regular companies?

A- We keep a very close and nonstop relationship with all Spanish air carriers. Just a few days ago, Air Europe opened a new flight between Cancun and Madrid. We are the official and institutional representation that must do everything within its reach to pitch a hand in that respect. Our goals are very clear.

Q- How many people belong to your office staff?

A- There are four people in all. One deals with management issues; another one hands in travel brochures to customers, plus a janitor and a secretary.

A- What’s your view of the World Tourism Expo recently held in Mexico?

A- It’s a very ambitious exhibition that we’ve joined willingly with a view to take part in next year’s edition.