Q & A with Joe Ducal, Latin America Sales Director at Greater Miami

Joe Ducal, Travel Industry Sales Director of the Miami CVB, sat down with Caribbean News Digital during the International Pow Wow (IPW) fair in Denver, Colorado, which unfolded on May 19-23.

Is it alright to call it the Greater Miami?

Yes, because we do not only promote the city of Miami as a destination, but also other cities within what the Miami-Dade County.

How many visitors do you have from Latin America in Miami?

Miami is the only destination in the United States in which you can say that 50% of the visitors are international, and of that figure, 70% hail from Latin America. Last year, Miami received 15.8 million visitors. Of them, 7.7 million came from international markets and 70% of that number traveled from Latin America.

According to statistics, a traveler from Latin America spends about two and half times more than money in Miami than an American, is it?

This is true, although it occurs generally with all travelers, not just those who come from Latin America; I think that an international visitor stays on average two nights more than a national tripper.

Foreign visitors spend more in Greater Miami because they stay in better hotels, go out to eat and enjoy the excursions much more than the nationals. And yes, the one that comes from Latin America does spend more, for example, than a European sunbather.

Are purchases the fundamental source of travel for most Latin Americans?

Yes, that is a custom that is part of the Latino traveler’s DNA, of those travelers who come to visit us, and is one of the things we are trying to change mentally because, today, Miami is more than shopping. It has art, culture, gastronomy, you name it.

We count on attractions and we want people who come to have the opportunity to explore what the Greater Miami is all about, leaving a little of what they have gotten used to doing, a tad of their comfort zone, just to let them explore the destination a little bit more.

They will be surprised to see what the Greater Miami has panned out to be today as a city and as a global and international destination.

In figures, could you tell us what the average consumption is only in tourism terms –not in purchases- for a Latin American traveler?

I do not have that specific number, but I can tell you that, for example, of those 15.8 million who visited us last year, generally speaking, domestic and international, direct entries to our destination reported $26.5 billion worth of spending, and of that amount, 60% was generated by tourists from Latin America.

What airlines will increase service or start flying to Miami?

This year we know that Air Italy is coming, with a direct flight from Milan. In 2017, Aer Lingus began flying from Dublin to Miami with direct flights. The interesting thing about this route is that passengers do everything -migration and customs clearances- in Dublin, and when they land in Miami they are treated as if they were taking a domestic flight, which helps a lot and cut the time to start your vacation immediately.

Also last year, El Al started flying, so we now have direct flights from Tel Aviv to Miami.

Above all, the strongest growth we’re seeing in terms of international airlines and new routes has been from Latin America: American Airlines is starting new routes this year; Brazil LATAM started a flight from El Salvador; and we have GOL that will start flights from Fortaleza and Brasilia.

Do you have a ballpark figure of people per family come from Latin America on a trip?

We have a general average of visitors and they usually are circa 2.5 people. That is a global figure in which we are taking both the domestic and the international visitor numbers into account.

What destination within the Greater Miami is the one normally used by Latinos?

Still, Miami Beach continues to be the main hub because it is what they have known and what they have heard about for many years, but that is already changing. That includes Miami’s downtown area, comprising the financial district of Brickell and Downtown Miami, but that has changed dramatically with new hotels, new condos and many other offers, including museums like Frost, Science and MMAP, which is the Museum of Contemporary Art. That area has grown a lot and now offers more dining options, attractions and more nightlife to choose from.

Another area that has had grown quite a lot is the Midtown area, where Winwood is located, which is considered the epicenter of the art realm in the Greater Miami, with over 70 art galleries, restaurants, which are all independent businesses.

That complemented shopping binge with other services now make Miami the capital of art and gastronomy all across Latin America. Do these three functions –tourism, art and cuisine- also merge from the Latino perspective?

Yes, obviously. Today, the art world has grown as much as gastronomy has, similarly to many cities in Latin America, such as Sao Paulo and Mexico City, which have eye-popping gastronomic options, and that’s something we also have in Miami.

We have a gastronomic program that is part of what we call Miami Temptation, which comes around in the months of August and September and is entitled Miami Spice. Last year we gathered over 250 participating restaurants, creating fixed three-course menus.

Last year, we also started with brunches and lunches, which sets back $23 per person, and dinner at $39 apiece. This is a program that has been going on for 17 years and is not only cut out for tourists, but also for those who live in the destination. We enjoy it because there are so many new restaurants that open that give us the opportunity to enjoy the local cuisine.              

What can you tell us about the Greater Miami in terms of growth, development, hope and security?

Miami, as such, is a very safe destination. One of the newcomers that began in mid-May was a new train service called Praline, with service from Miami to West Palm Beach, and stopping in Fort Lauderdale. Eventually, the train will reach Orlando.

We also have many sports events that come to Miami, such as the Super Bowl, for people who like football, coming together with the centenary of the NFL, the National Football League.

It's just been announced that Formula 1 is coming back to Miami, so there’s a lot going on in the growth of the city. We’re always looking for and achieving new things and attractions, so that people from all over the world continue to visit us, people from Europe, Asia, Latin America and also from the domestic market.

You've talked about F-1. Where and when is it going to happen?

Permits are due out now and it happen in downtown Miami, in an urban circuit. I do not have the exact date because it is fresh news, just out of the oven, but it will be penciled in as one of the top attractions. We are constantly looking for opportunities to continue reeling in more visitors to Miami.